Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2021
A Next Big Idea Club Best Nonfiction of 2021
From the New York Times best-selling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing.
Self-deception does terrible harm to us, to our communities, and to the planet. But if it is so bad for us, why is it ubiquitous? In Useful Delusions, Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler argue that, paradoxically, self-deception can also play a vital role in our success and well-being.
The lies we tell ourselves sustain our daily interactions with friends, lovers, and coworkers. They can explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don't, why some nations hold together while others splinter.
Filled with powerful personal stories and drawing on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Useful Delusions offers a fascinating tour of what it really means to be human.
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Shankar Vedantam. (2021). Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain. W. W. Norton & Company.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Shankar Vedantam. 2021. Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain. W. W. Norton & Company.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Shankar Vedantam, Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain. W. W. Norton & Company, 2021.
MLA Citation (style guide)Shankar Vedantam. Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain. W. W. Norton & Company, 2021.
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- value: Religion
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A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2021
A Next Big Idea Club Best Nonfiction of 2021
From the New York Times best-selling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing.Self-deception does terrible harm to us, to our communities, and to the planet. But if it is so bad for us, why is it ubiquitous? In Useful Delusions, Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler argue that, paradoxically, self-deception can also play a vital role in our success and well-being.
The lies we tell ourselves sustain our daily interactions with friends, lovers, and coworkers. They can explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don't, why some nations hold together while others splinter.
Filled with powerful personal stories and drawing on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Useful Delusions offers a fascinating tour of what it really means to be human.
- reviews
- premium: False
- source: Katie Hafner, Washington Post
- content: Powerful...[Vedantam] explains the phenomenon of deceit in general, and self-deception in particular, with the same plain language and gentle authority that his listeners have come to rely on.
- premium: False
- source: Tali Sharot, New York Times Book Review
- content: Vedantam and Mesler pepper hard data with compelling stories to make their case. Vedantam's empathy and intuitive understanding of human nature, which shine on his popular 'Hidden Brain' podcast, come through in Useful Delusions.
- premium: False
- source: Matthew Hutson, Wall Street Journal
- content: A lively and digestible book...Perhaps the book's most important point advises how to combat destructive delusions.
- premium: False
- source: Andrew Robinson, Nature
- content: [A] scientifically informed, provocative and stylish study of self-deception.
- premium: False
- source: Karen R. Koenig, New York Journal of Books
- content: Useful Delusions takes us on a fascinating, enlightening tour of the human mind.
- premium: False
- source: Kirkus Reviews
- content: Ingenious...A passionate, often counterintuitive, disturbingly convincing addition to the why-people-believe-stupid-things genre.
- premium: False
- source: Library Journal (starred review)
- content: This excellent narrative nonfiction work will engage a variety of readers, and is a solid choice for book clubs who like to discuss current events.
- premium: True
- source:
- content:
December 15, 2020
According to this ingenious and unsettling account, deception is essential to our well-being. Vedantam and Mesler note that when we ask an acquaintance, "how are you?" we usually don't want an honest answer--and don't get one. If you don't believe in Santa Claus or the second coming, it's because "your life does not depend on your believing such things." However, if matters took a turn for the worse, you might reconsider. "There are no atheists in foxholes" is a clich� but not entirely false. The authors emphasize that evolution did not design our brain to seek the truth but to survive. Seeking the truth is beside the point. Depressed people often see the world more realistically. Deception, including self-deception write the authors, "enables us to accomplish useful social, psychological, or biological goals. Holding false beliefs is not always the mark of idiocy, pathology, or villainy." Much of the book recounts often squirm-inducing examples to prove the case. For example, in the late 1980s, a group called the "Church of Love" sent affectionate form letters from purportedly distressed young women to lonely men, many of whom engaged in extensive correspondence and sent money, not always when requested. At the leader's trial, many victims, despite knowing the facts, fervently defended him. Digging deeper, the authors examine American patriotism and how our collective "national fictions give us a shared sense of identity and purpose, the cohesion to accomplish great things, the will and capability to defend ourselves against mortal threats." The authors also examine the concept of the placebo, which in certain cases is "the most benevolent of lies," and they defend their position that optimists with fatal diseases live longer than "realists," quoting studies that show this and ignoring those that show the opposite. A passionate, often counterintuitive, disturbingly convincing addition to the why-people-believe-stupid-things genre.COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
- premium: True
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Starred review from January 1, 2021
Many books have been written about the downside of self-deception. Journalists Vedantam (host of podcast and radio show Hidden Brain and author of the best-selling book of the same name) and Mesler provide a counter argument. They maintain that some deceptions are functional, as they enable us to accomplish social, psychological, and biological goals. In the introduction, Vedantam makes the case that believing what we want to believe and seeing what we want to see is often the result of one's circumstances. When thinking of deception, the authors urge readers to ask more complicated questions: What are the costs and benefits? Whom does the falsehood serve? In a particular situation, is it more important to be honest or kind? Referencing both historical resources and popular culture, the authors show how the lies we tell are often societal niceties. The chapter on the founding myths of the United States, and what it means to be a nation, make for urgent reading. It is essential not to miss the authors' more significant proposition: to compassionately consider others' perspectives even if they do not seem rational or true. VERDICT This excellent narrative nonfiction work will engage a variety of readers, and is a solid choice for book clubs who like to discuss current events.--Beth Dalton, Littleton, CO
Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
- premium: True
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January 1, 2021
We all lie to ourselves. Turns out, that's not necessarily a bad thing or even a character flaw. This curious book inquires, ""When should we fight self-deception and when--and how much--should we embrace it?"" Deluding ourselves and promoting false optimism can generate beneficial outcomes, posits author, public radio host, and podcaster Vedantam (Hidden Brain, 2010) and his coauthor. In a gloomy reality, fooling ourselves into believing something can heighten well-being by offering hope and optimism. A self-deceiving brain has a possible evolutionary role in enhancing survival. Although honesty ranks high as a valued virtue, deceptions are ubiquitous. We lie out of kindness to protect or comfort others. Lies assist in steering our social relationships. Lies function as a defense mechanism. The best part of this inquiry is the final third, a probe of the pervasiveness of self-deception in rituals, patriotism, and religion. The authors conclude that we are all vulnerable to falsehoods and myths not because we are simpletons, but rather because we are flawed and frightened beings. Welcoming our inner Pinocchio may just be prudent behavior.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2021
A Next Big Idea Club Best Nonfiction of 2021
From the New York Times best-selling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing.Self-deception does terrible harm to us, to our communities, and to the planet. But if it is so bad for us, why is it ubiquitous? In Useful Delusions, Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler argue that, paradoxically, self-deception can also play a vital role in our success and well-being.
The lies we tell ourselves sustain our daily interactions with friends, lovers, and coworkers. They can explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don't, why some nations hold together while others splinter.
Filled with powerful personal stories and drawing on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Useful Delusions offers a fascinating tour of...
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