Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do about It

"From phishing scams to pyramid schemes, our world is filled with people who want to fool us. In Nobody's Fool, expert psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris break down the science behind deception to pull back the curtain on how we can all avoid being scammed-or even scam the scammers in return. Simons and Chabris identify ten specific features of our psychology that make us vulnerable to being tricked, from our innate tendency to treat all new information-not to mention anything that seemsfamiliar or consistent!-as though it were true, to our failure to consider the important information that we're not receiving, to our tendency to be wary of randomness when in fact it's a sign of authenticity. They explain why all of us are fooled some of the time - whether it's by magicians, marketers, psychics, conspiracy theories, Internet bots, con artists, fraudulent scientists, or even ourselves. Weaving together entertaining stories with scientific research, Simons and Chabris show how Bernie Madoff pulled off his Ponzi scheme; why as much as half the art in leading museums is fake; why every piece of satire reaches people who take it seriously; and the one simple trick to better negotiation that we're all ignoring (yes, it's a genuine tip). They investigate everything from John Podesta giving his emails to Russian hackers to Andre Agassi's ability to read Boris Becker's mind-not to mention, how to tell if someone is lying about inventing cold fusion (even if you know nothing about physics), or ifthey are forging art (even if you can't tell Monet from Manet). Simons and Chabris put those principles to work, providing concrete ways that readers can build up their resistance to deception and revealing the crucial questions we should ask even beforesomething starts to look suspicious"--
In a world brimming with deception, two psychologists explain the science behind cons, including Ponzi schemes, phishing, fraudulent science, fake art and crypto hucksters, and provide unforgettable sayings and practical tools for helping readers spot scams before it’s too late.
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.?