The Psychology of Stupidity: Explained by Some of the World's Smartest People

Description

The Number One International bestseller 'We need books like this one' - psychologist Steven Pinker At last, stupidity explained! And by some of the world's smartest people, among them Daniel Kahneman, Dan Ariely, Alison Gopnik, Howard Gardner, Antonio Damasio, Aaron James and Ryan Holiday. Stupidity is all around us, from the colleagues who won't stop hitting 'reply all' to the former school friends posting conspiracy theories on Facebook. But in order to battle idiocy, we must first understand it. In The Psychology of Stupidity, some of the world's leading psychologists and thinkers - including a Nobel Prize winner - will show you . . . * Why smart people sometimes believe in utter nonsense * How our lazy brains cause us to make the wrong decisions * Why trying to debate with fools is a trap * How media manipulation and Internet overstimulation makes us dumber * Why the stupidest people don't think they're stupid As long as there have been humans there has been human stupidity, but with wit and wisdom these great thinkers can help us understand this persistent human affliction.

Jean-Francois Marmion (editor) is a psychologist, an associate editor of the French journal Sciences Humaines [Social Sciences], and a former editor-in-chief of the French magazine Le Cercle Psy [Psychological Circle]. He lives in France, where The Psychology of Stupidity was a number one bestseller.

We need books like this one -- Steven Pinker I was totally hooked. Everybody loves it. * La Grande Librairie * A very clever book. * Le Canard Enchaine * Can you study stupidity? The answer is a resounding YES. * Le Quotidien * Entertaining and instructive. * France Inter * Clear and accessible to everyone * Lire * A comprehensive and witty inquiry into human folly in its myriad forms . . . [with a] wealth of insights . . . Urgent and transformative, this compendium will leave readers equally amused, appalled, and enlightened. * Publishers Weekly * Are people getting dumber, or does it just look that way? . . . A smart collection. * Kirkus Reviews * Remarkably comprehensive and accessible . . . The book has an easygoing, colloquial feel to it. . . . An illuminating look at a subject that is more complex than it might appear to be. * Booklist * Fascinating . . . From morons to idiots to *ssholes, they're all here. * News24, South Africa * A blunt and sometimes hilarious examination of human error. * Business Day, South Africa *