The Psychology of Stupidity

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