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Nobody's Fool
Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do about It
Description
Two New York Times-bestselling psychologists explain the science of cons—and how we can avoid them
From phishing scams to Ponzi schemes, fraudulent science to fake art, chess cheaters to crypto hucksters, and marketers to magicians, our world brims with deception. In Nobody’s Fool, psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris show us how to avoid being taken in. They describe the key habits of thinking and reasoning that serve us well most of the time but make us vulnerable—like our tendency to accept what we see, stick to our commitments, and overvalue precision and consistency. Each chapter illustrates their new take on the science of deception, describing scams you’ve never heard of and shedding new light on some you have. Simons and Chabris provide memorable maxims and practical tools you can use to spot deception before it’s too late.
Informative, illuminating, and entertaining, Nobody’s Fool will protect us from charlatans in all their forms—and delight us along the way.
From phishing scams to Ponzi schemes, fraudulent science to fake art, chess cheaters to crypto hucksters, and marketers to magicians, our world brims with deception. In Nobody’s Fool, psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris show us how to avoid being taken in. They describe the key habits of thinking and reasoning that serve us well most of the time but make us vulnerable—like our tendency to accept what we see, stick to our commitments, and overvalue precision and consistency. Each chapter illustrates their new take on the science of deception, describing scams you’ve never heard of and shedding new light on some you have. Simons and Chabris provide memorable maxims and practical tools you can use to spot deception before it’s too late.
Informative, illuminating, and entertaining, Nobody’s Fool will protect us from charlatans in all their forms—and delight us along the way.
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Praise
"This entry provides smart, succinct analyses based in solid cognitive science principles. The gullible and skeptical alike will find plenty to chew on."—Publishers Weekly
"Rarely do you find such practical advice combined with such delicious entertainment. In an age of con artists, charlatans, and conspiracy peddlers, Nobody's Fool is an essential survival guide for investors, consumers, and citizens. I wondered if the authors could possibly top The Invisible Gorilla, a classic in its field. They have – and we're all better armed against fraud as a result."—Diana B. Henriques, author of the New York Times bestseller The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust
"Through captivating storytelling and insightful analysis, Nobody's Fool provides a fascinating exploration of the human mind's vulnerability to deception, and offers practical tools to help us become more rational decision-makers."—Annie Duke, author of Thinking in Bets and Quit
"This book is worth vastly more than its purchase price. It shows, in rich detail, that con-artists around the world use strikingly similar tactics to ensnare their victims. Simons and Chabris offer an engaging master class in how to foil purveyors of false promises.”—Philip E. Tetlock, author of Superforecasting
“Whether you are wondering how frauds like Enron, Theranos, and FTX managed to fool so many people for so much of the time, or just want to know how to protect yourself from The Next Big Fleece, Simons and Chabris have got you covered, in this tour of how con artists, hoaxers, and troll farms prey on human cognitive weaknesses.”—Gary Marcus, author of Guitar Zero, Kluge, and Rebooting AI