Kidding Ourselves: The Hidden Power of Self-Deception

Kidding Ourselves: The Hidden Power of Self-Deception

by Joseph T. Hallinan
Kidding Ourselves: The Hidden Power of Self-Deception

Kidding Ourselves: The Hidden Power of Self-Deception

by Joseph T. Hallinan

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Overview

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Why We Make Mistakes, an illuminating exploration of human beings’ astonishing ability to deceive themselves.
 
To one degree or another, we all misjudge reality. Our perception—of ourselves and the world around us—is much more malleable than we realize. This self-deception influences every major aspect of our personal and social life, including relationships, sex, politics, careers, and health. 
     In Kidding Ourselves, Joseph Hallinan offers a nuts-and-bolts look at how this penchant shapes our everyday lives, from the medicines we take to the decisions we make. It shows, for instance, just how much the power of many modern medicines, particularly anti-depressants and painkillers, is largely in our heads. Placebos in modern-day life extend beyond hospitals, to fake thermostats and “elevator close” buttons that don’t really work…but give the perception that they do.          
     Kidding Ourselves brings together a variety of subjects, linking seemingly unrelated ideas in fascinating and unexpected ways. And ultimately, it shows that deceiving ourselves is not always negative or foolish. As increasing numbers of researchers are discovering, it can be incredibly useful, providing us with the resilience we need to persevere, in the boardroom, bedroom, and beyond. 
     Provocative, accessible, and easily applicable to multiple facets of everyday life, Kidding Ourselves is an extraordinary new exploration of our mind’s flexibility.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780385348690
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Publication date: 05/20/2014
Sold by: Random House
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

JOSEPH T. HALLINAN, a former writer for The Wall Street Journal, is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He lives in Chicago with his wife and three children.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I The Power of Nothing Placebos, Mass Hysteria, and Fatal Delusions

The Medicine of Imagination 9

The Human Stampede 28

Fatal Instincts 42

Part II The Eye of the Beholder Perception, Expectation, and the Lure of Superstition

Dial E for Expectation 67

True Believers 88

Control Freaks 104

Lucky Charms 125

Part III Delusions of Success Power, Money, and Risk

Drunk with Power 145

It Can't Happen to Me 162

Enduring the Blizzard 180

Conclusion 203

Acknowledgments 211

Notes 213

Bibliography 223

Index 255

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