Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain
By: Shankar Vedantam
3.85
Format: 272 pages, ebook
From the New York Times best-selling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look…
Want to Read $ 9.99"Our minds are vulnerable to myths, falsehoods and fictions not merely because we are dumb or stupid, but because we are frail, flawed and easily afraid. Advocating fearless rationality—an end to myth-making and myth-believing—is not just about being smart. It is a matter of privilege. If you don’t lack for food and water, for physical security or a police department that comes when you call, you might not feel the need to turn to myths, rationalizations and rituals. You may have no need for fellow members of your tribe to come to your assistance when you are sick, because there are doctors and hospitals who will do a better job. If you think of yourself as a citizen of the world because borders are illusions and people everywhere are the same, you probably haven’t lived through the kind of persecution that makes you desperate for the protection of your fellow tribesmen. It’s fine to hold secular, cosmopolitan views. But when rationalists look down on people who crave the hollow panaceas of tribe and nation, it’s like Marie Antoinette asking why peasants who lack bread don’t satisfy themselves with cake. They fail to grasp what life is like for most people on the planet."-Shankar Vedantam, Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain
If you liked the nonfiction plot in Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain by Shankar Vedantam , here is a list of 29 books like this:
1. Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict
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Format: 344 pages, ebook
How did human societies scale up from tight-knit groups of hunter-gatherers to the large, anonymous… read more
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2. The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children
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3. Monkeyluv: And Other Essays on Our Lives as Animals
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5. Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters
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6. Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things
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7. Všetko, čo nás spája: Príbeh slovenskej Vietnamky
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4.59
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Už pri jej narodení sa vyskytli problémy s identitou, pridelili jej totiž nesprávne rodné číslo. Mo… read more
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9. Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well
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3.68
Format: 256 pages, ebook
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11. Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World
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The exhilarating true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, and inspi… read more
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4.00
Format: 288 pages, Hardcover
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13. Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality
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4.08
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14. The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
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"Novels and stories give people the chance to experience countless lives."-Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
"People who believe in themselves do things that give them even more reason to believe. They adopt habits of mind that work over the long term."-Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
"Fiction is empathy's gateway drug. It helps us feel for others when real-world caring is too difficult, complicated or painful. Because of this, it can restore bonds between people even when that see…"-Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
"Bring people together, and they'll awaken to their common humanity. A similar thought led Mark Twain to quip, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people nee…"-Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
15. The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
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"I think two of the fundamental facts of being a person are 1. We must go on, and 2. None of us ever walks alone. We may feel alone (in fact, we will feel alone), but even in the crushing grind of iso…"-John Green, The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
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17. Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain
By: Shankar Vedantam
3.85
Format: 272 pages, ebook
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- brain
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"Our minds are vulnerable to myths, falsehoods and fictions not merely because we are dumb or stupid, but because we are frail, flawed and easily afraid. Advocating fearless rationality—an end to myth…"-Shankar Vedantam, Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain
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21. Chasing Hope: A Reporter's Life
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Format: 288 pages, ebook
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"Protect yourself against would-be manipulators by understanding and recognizing their tricks."-Christopher Hadnagy, Human Hacking: Win Friends, Influence People, and Leave Them Better Off for Having Met You
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3.93
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27. The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America
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28. Useful Not True: whatever works for you
By: Derek Sivers
4.62
Format: None pages, None
None read more
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29. Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics
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4.27
Format: 304 pages, Hardcover
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30. On the Edge: The Art of Risking Everything
By: Nate Silver
3.84
Format: 576 pages, Hardcover
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