As an experimental social psychologist, who has conducted years of empirical research on bullshitting behavior and bullshit detection, Iāve found compelling evidence that the worst outcomes of bullshit communications are false beliefs and bad decisions. Iām convinced that all of our problems, whether they be personal, interpersonal, professional, or societal are either directly or indirectly linked to mindless bullshit reasoning and communication. Iām just sick and tired of incompetent, bullshit artists who capitalize by repackaging and selling what I and other experimental psychologists do for free. Itās time the masses learn that some of us who actually do the research on the things we write about can actually do it better.
Bullshit is the foundation of contaminated thinking and bad decisions that leads to health consequences, financial losses, legal consequences, brokenā¦
If there is one book I wish Iād written myself, it is How to Become a Really Good Pain in the Ass. One of the things I admired most about the people who shaped my education and career path most was their ability to listen carefully and ask critical questions that uncovered even more than what was first expressed. Christopher DiCarloās book is a manual to practicing these traits. The book provides all of the tools needed to question beliefs and assumptions held by those who claim to know what theyāre talking about, while at the same time providing practical solutions for todayās world of misinformation. The book also convinced me that faulty reasoning can be spotted by asking the right sorts of questionsāwhat better gift to give someone?
In this witty, incisive guide to critical thinking the author provides you with the tools to allow you to question beliefs and assumptions held by those who claim to know what they're talking about. These days there are many people whom we need to question: politicians, lawyers, doctors, teachers, clergy members, bankers, car salesmen, and your boss. This book will empower you with the ability to spot faulty reasoning and, by asking the right sorts of questions, hold people accountable not only for what they believe but how they behave.
By using this book you'll learn to analyze your ownā¦
I found this book absolutely thrilling as a real-life story of one of the biggest bullshit busts in history. Bernie Madoffās Ponzi scheme ran for almost 18 years without much concern or investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). But, Harry Markopolos, a little-known number cruncher from a Boston equity derivatives firm, was onto Madoff after looking at Madoffās financial records, several years before the bust made headlines. Page by page, Markopolos details his pursuit of the greatest financial criminal in history, and reveals the massive fraud, governmental incompetence, and criminal collusion that has changed thousands of lives forever-as well as the worldās financial system. All the while, no one, including the SEC, would listen. As such, the book is the quintessential example of how spellbinding bullshit can be.
Harry Markopolos and his team of financial sleuths discuss first-hand how they cracked the Madoff Ponzi scheme No One Would Listen is the thrilling story of how the Harry Markopolos, a little-known number cruncher from a Boston equity derivatives firm, and his investigative team uncovered Bernie Madoff's scam years before it made headlines, and how they desperately tried to warn the government, the industry, and the financial press. Page by page, Markopolos details his pursuit of the greatest financial criminal in history, and reveals the massive fraud, governmental incompetence, and criminal collusion that has changed thousands of lives forever-as wellā¦
Forthcoming eclipses coming up in Australia include that of 22 July 2028, which will cross Australia from the Northern Territory to Sydney, home of the internationally famous sights of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Eclipse Chasers will act as a guidebook for both locals and international visitors, givingā¦
James Alcock is the only social psychologist I know who could write a clear, accessible, and comprehensive volume on the psychology of beliefāparticularly how our thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions, respond not to the world as it actually is but to the world as we believe it to be. No matter how much you think you know about beliefs, and no matter what you actually believe, any reader will find surprises in Alcockās treatise, such as why so many people cling to beliefs that are foolish, self-destructive, and wrong, believing them to be wise, self-protective, and right. Belief convinced me that faulty beliefs, arising from misapprehension about the cause of a disease, misperceptions of an enemyās actions, misreading a loverās motive, misconceptions about which, if any, gods are real, can lead to irrational, maladaptive, and sometimes deadly actions.
An expert on the psychology of belief examines how our thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions, respond not to the world as it actually is but to the world as we believe it to be.
This book explores the psychology of belief - how beliefs are formed, how they are influenced both by internal factors, such as perception, memory, reason, emotion, and prior beliefs, as well as external factors, such as experience, identification with a group, social pressure, and manipulation. It also reveals how vulnerable beliefs are to error, and how they can be held with great confidence even whenā¦
Why People Believe Weird Things is a classic, must-read in the areas of critical thinking and skepticism. But, the reason I love Michael Shermerās book so much is that he clearly explains why people believe the strangest of things without patronizing his opponents. In doing so, the book reaches a very compelling demonstration of how anyoneās search for meaning and spiritual fulfillment can result in the beliefs in extraordinary claims and controversial ideas. For example, Shermer explains why people may truly believe that they were held by aliens or have recovered a memory of childhood satanic-ritual abuse in terms of scientific reasoning. Shermer is a science historian with a cornucopia of examples he captivated me with the first time I read the book. The second time I read the book I realized it is a comprehensive, well-indexed, and extensive bibliography of a treatise focusing on how we can combat the development of distorted beliefs through critical skepticism and debunk the most brilliant of bullshit artists.
This work presents a down-to-earth and sometimes funny survey of a range of contemporary irrationalisms, and explains their empirical and logical flaws. It tackles a variety of topics including creationism, Holocaust denial, race and IQ, cults and alien abductions, and the author looks at the research behind the claims and discredits the pseudoscience involved.
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Certified mindfulness teacher, bestselling author, ultramarathoner, wife, and dog-mom Nita Sweeney shares mindfulness meditation practices to help anyone break free from worry and self-judgment.
I found Everything is Bullshit to be so interesting that I wasnāt able to put it down once discovered in a random, one-off, used bookstore. This book is a sleeping beauty. It opened my eyes to all the scams that big companies use and how they have the money and power to keep getting away with them. The explanations for why many of our societyās most cherished traditions are actually based on bullshit reasoning are well-researched and compelling. The book helped me understand why diamond engagement rings are so expensive, why wine is so expensive, how art becomes āartā, why non-proļ¬t organizations ask us to donate our cars to them, why college costs so much, and why so many pets die in animal shelters.
Many of our societyās most cherished traditions are actually based on historical accident, the proļ¬t motives of a few companies, or the agenda of someone who died long ago. A lot of what we believe and do is bullshit, yet we walk around thinking our way of doing things is inherently correct. Why do we exchange diamond engagement rings? Why is wine so expensive? How does art become āartā? Why do so many non-proļ¬ts want us to donate cars to them? Why does college cost so much? Why do so many pets die in animal shelters? Why is the worldā¦
Bullshit is the foundation of contaminated thinking and bad decisions that leads to health consequences, financial losses, legal consequences, broken relationships, and wasted time and resources. No matter how good we think we are at detecting bullshit, weāre all susceptible to its unwanted effects. While we may brush it off as harmless marketing sales speak, itās actually much more dangerous. Itās how Bernie Madoff swindled billions of dollars from experienced financial experts with his Ponzi scheme. Itās how Mao Zedongās Great Leap Forward resulted in the deaths of 36 million people from starvation.
But with doses of skepticism and commitment to truth seeking, you can build your critical thinking and reasoning skills to evaluate information, separate fact from fiction, and see through bullshitter spin.
Trial, Error, and Success
by
Sima Dimitrijev, PhD,
Everything in nature evolves by trial, error, and successāfrom fundamental physics, through evolution in biology, to how people learn, think, and decide.
This book presents a way of thinking and realistic knowledge that our formal education shuns. Stepping beyond this ignorance, the book shows how to deal with and evenā¦
When we're children, we're asked what we want to be when we grow up. But what if there isn't just one career for us in our lifetime? What if we can have a squiggly line career that spans professions and industries?