{"product_id":"not-born-yesterday-hugo-mercier-9780691178707","title":"Not Born Yesterday: The Science of Who We Trust and What We Believe","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy people are not as gullible as we think\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eNot Born Yesterday\u003c\/i\u003e explains how we decide who we can trust and what we should believe--and argues that we're pretty good at making these decisions. In this lively and provocative book, Hugo Mercier demonstrates how virtually all attempts at mass persuasion--whether by religious leaders, politicians, or advertisers--fail miserably. Drawing on recent findings from political science and other fields ranging from history to anthropology, Mercier shows that the narrative of widespread gullibility, in which a credulous public is easily misled by demagogues and charlatans, is simply wrong. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhy is mass persuasion so difficult? Mercier uses the latest findings from experimental psychology to show how each of us is endowed with sophisticated cognitive mechanisms of open vigilance. Computing a variety of cues, these mechanisms enable us to be on guard against harmful beliefs, while being open enough to change our minds when presented with the right evidence. Even failures--when we accept false confessions, spread wild rumors, or fall for quack medicine--are better explained as bugs in otherwise well-functioning cognitive mechanisms than as symptoms of general gullibility. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eNot Born Yesterday\u003c\/i\u003e shows how we filter the flow of information that surrounds us, argues that we do it well, and explains how we can do it better still.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Hugo Mercier\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691178704\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691178707\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/28\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.45lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.60h x 5.70w x 1.40d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2020","brand":"Hugo Mercier","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44042951098623,"sku":"9780691178707","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_65084c64-d552-40d7-aefc-7e5fde00bb4f.jpg?v=1684964450","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/not-born-yesterday-hugo-mercier-9780691178707","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}