The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine


EPISODE # 99

Bobby Duffy — Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding

What percentage of the population are immigrants? How bad is unemployment? How much sex do people have? These questions are important and interesting, but most of us get the answers wrong. Research shows that people often wildly misunderstand the state of the world, regardless of age, sex, or education. And though the internet brings us unprecedented access to information, there’s little evidence we’re any better informed because of it. We may blame cognitive bias or fake news, but neither tells the complete story. In Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything, Bobby Duffy draws on his research into public perception across more than forty countries, offering a sweeping account of the stubborn problem of human delusion: how society breeds it, why it will never go away, and what our misperceptions say about what we really believe. We won’t always know the facts, but they still matter. Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything is mandatory reading for anyone interested making humankind a little bit smarter. Duffy and Shermer also discuss:

  • cognitive biases and how they distort what we think about the world
  • do men really have more sexual partners than women (and if so, who are they having sex with?)
  • why we lie to ourselves and others about almost everything
  • fears about immigrants and immigration
  • Brexit: leave or remain and why people vote each way
  • why we are more polarized politically than ever before (and what we can do about it)
  • the “backfire effect”: the bad news and the good
  • why we are not living in a post-truth era
  • why facts matter and why free speech matters, and
  • kids these days…

Bobby Duffy is director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London. Formerly, he was managing director of the Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute and global director of the Ipsos Social Research Institute. He lives in London.

Listen to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn.

You play a vital part in our commitment to promote science and reason. If you enjoy the Science Salon Podcast, please show your support by making a donation.


THE GREAT COURSES PLUS

Get One Free Month Using Michael Shermer’s Special Discount Link Below

We are now working with The Great Courses to bring you a special offer for Unlimited Access to Over 11,000 Video and Audio Lectures in Science, Math, History, Photography, and more… Read the following note from Michael Shermer to learn more.

As most of you know I consume a lot of online content while I’m driving, cycling, hiking, or doing chores around the house, and for years you’ve heard or seen me posting on social media The Great Courses I’ve been taking, for example:

  • Professor Patrick Grim’s The Philosopher’s Toolkit: How to be the Most Rational Person in Any Room.
  • Professor Richard B. Spence’s The Real History of Secret Societies, and
  • Professor Daniel Breyer’s Understanding the Dark Side of Human Nature.

In the past I would purchase individual courses, but with The Great Courses Plus program you can subscribe to the service and listen to individual lectures — or entire courses — from a huge variety of courses from their catalogue.

With The Great Courses Plus program I often skip around and listen to lectures from different courses, depending on what, exactly, I’m interested in hearing that particular day. For example, The Philosopher’s Toolkit includes 24 30-minute lectures that teach you, for example, how to think like Artistotle, the power of thought experiments, the difference between cool rationality and hot thought, why we make mistakes, how to win debates, and near and dear to my heart, how to think scientifically.

For a limited time only, they are offering my listeners an entire month for free.

But to start your free month trial, you must sign up today using my special promotional URL: thegreatcoursesplus.com/salon

Get your free month

This episode was released on January 14, 2020.

Skeptic Magazine App on iPhone

SKEPTIC App

Whether at home or on the go, the SKEPTIC App is the easiest way to read your favorite articles. Within the app, users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Download the app today and get a 30-day free trial subscription.

Download the Skeptic Magazine App for iOS, available on the App Store
Download the Skeptic Magazine App for Android, available on Google Play
Download the Skeptic Magazine App for iOS, available on the App Store
Download the Skeptic Magazine App for Android, available on Google Play
SKEPTIC • 3938 State St., Suite 101, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105-3114 • 1-805-576-9396 • Copyright © 1992–2023. All rights reserved • Privacy Policy