Not Born Yesterday : The Science of Who We Trust and What We Believe

Resumen del libro

Why people are not as gullible as we thinkNot Born Yesterday 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.

Why 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.

Not Born Yesterday 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.

Biografía del autor

Hugo Mercier es un científico cognitivo que trabaja para el Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas de Francia, en Lyon. Su trabajo se centra en el razonamiento y la vigilancia epistémica. Esta investigación tiene el objetivo de comprender mejor el proceso de propagación de creencias falsas dañinas (por ejemplo, sobre la vacunación), para combatirlas. Trata de entender en profundidad los fenómenos culturales a través del conocimiento que nos proporciona la psicología.