2024~29. Misbelief

Dan Ariely. 2023.

I was very skeptical when I started reading this.  It felt like it was going to be another thrown together book by someone capitalizing on their 20 minutes of internet fame.  And it did start that way.  For some reason still unclear to me, and apparently still someone unclear to the author, the author becomes the target of COVID conspiracy theory smear campaigns, being accused of being part of the illuminati.  He found this quite distressing, to be hated and accused of orchestrating a massive hoax to require people to wear masks and isolate and take vaccines. 

But, once I got past the set up of the book, it turned out to be quite a fascinating deep dive into why people believe conspiracy theories---or really why anyone believes anything at all.  With references to interesting studies, including the ability for you to take some of the tests given to subjects in the studies, I found myself really thinking about my believe system and where it comes from.  From intuition to peer influences to personal experience to data and who I trust, this book got me thinking about where deeply held beliefs come from and how they are reinforced.  I was particularly drawn into the discussion about changing deeply held beliefs and the personality types that are more able to adapt to new information.  Turned out that I actually liked the book and would recommend it.

​Recommended.

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