Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain

by Shankar Vedantam, Bill Mesler

Overview

A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2021
A Next Big Idea Club Best Nonfiction of 2021

From the New York Times best-selling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing.

Self-deception does terrible harm to us, to our communities, and to the planet. But if it is so bad for us, why is it ubiquitous? In Useful Delusions, Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler argue that, paradoxically, self-deception can also play a vital role in our success and well-being.

The lies we tell ourselves sustain our daily interactions with friends, lovers, and coworkers. They can explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don’t, why some nations hold together while others splinter.

Filled with powerful personal stories and drawing on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Useful Delusions offers a fascinating tour of what it really means to be human.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781324020288
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2022
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	401,042
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 12.00(h) x 3.60(d)

About the Author

Shankar Vedantam is host of the Hidden Brain podcast and public radio show and the author of The Hidden Brain, a New York Times national bestseller. He lives in Washington, DC.

Bill Mesler is the coauthor of A Brief History of Creation. He lives in Washington, DC.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

Part 1 Everyday Life

1 Hot Air 3

2 Everything Is Going to Be OK 17

3 The Theater of Healing 29

4 The Invisible Hand 45

Part II The Search for Meaning

5 The Heart Has Its Reasons 65

6 Predictive Reasoning 95

7 Somewhere Over the Rainbow 113

Part III The Tribe

8 Walking through Fire 135

9 Something Worth Dying For 153

10 The Grand Delusion 172

Epilogue 193

Acknowledgments 203

Notes 209

Bibliography 219

Index 225

Editorial Reviews

"[A] scientifically informed, provocative and stylish study of self-deception."

Nature - Andrew Robinson

"Useful Delusions takes us on a fascinating, enlightening tour of the human mind."

New York Journal of Books - Karen R. Koenig

"A lively and digestible book…Perhaps the book’s most important point advises how to combat destructive delusions."

Matthew Hutson

"Powerful…[Vedantam] explains the phenomenon of deceit in general, and self-deception in particular, with the same plain language and gentle authority that his listeners have come to rely on."

Katie Hafner

"Vedantam and Mesler pepper hard data with compelling stories to make their case. Vedantam’s empathy and intuitive understanding of human nature, which shine on his popular 'Hidden Brain' podcast, come through in Useful Delusions."

Tali Sharot

★ 01/01/2021

Many books have been written about the downside of self-deception. Journalists Vedantam (host of podcast and radio show Hidden Brain and author of the best-selling book of the same name) and Mesler provide a counter argument. They maintain that some deceptions are functional, as they enable us to accomplish social, psychological, and biological goals. In the introduction, Vedantam makes the case that believing what we want to believe and seeing what we want to see is often the result of one's circumstances. When thinking of deception, the authors urge readers to ask more complicated questions: What are the costs and benefits? Whom does the falsehood serve? In a particular situation, is it more important to be honest or kind? Referencing both historical resources and popular culture, the authors show how the lies we tell are often societal niceties. The chapter on the founding myths of the United States, and what it means to be a nation, make for urgent reading. It is essential not to miss the authors' more significant proposition: to compassionately consider others' perspectives even if they do not seem rational or true. VERDICT This excellent narrative nonfiction work will engage a variety of readers, and is a solid choice for book clubs who like to discuss current events.—Beth Dalton, Littleton, CO

Library Journal

2020-11-21
According to this ingenious and unsettling account, deception is essential to our well-being.

Vedantam and Mesler note that when we ask an acquaintance, “how are you?” we usually don’t want an honest answer—and don’t get one. If you don’t believe in Santa Claus or the second coming, it’s because “your life does not depend on your believing such things.” However, if matters took a turn for the worse, you might reconsider. “There are no atheists in foxholes” is a cliché but not entirely false. The authors emphasize that evolution did not design our brain to seek the truth but to survive. Seeking the truth is beside the point. Depressed people often see the world more realistically. Deception, including self-deception write the authors, “enables us to accomplish useful social, psychological, or biological goals. Holding false beliefs is not always the mark of idiocy, pathology, or villainy.” Much of the book recounts often squirm-inducing examples to prove the case. For example, in the late 1980s, a group called the “Church of Love” sent affectionate form letters from purportedly distressed young women to lonely men, many of whom engaged in extensive correspondence and sent money, not always when requested. At the leader’s trial, many victims, despite knowing the facts, fervently defended him. Digging deeper, the authors examine American patriotism and how our collective “national fictions give us a shared sense of identity and purpose, the cohesion to accomplish great things, the will and capability to defend ourselves against mortal threats.” The authors also examine the concept of the placebo, which in certain cases is “the most benevolent of lies,” and they defend their position that optimists with fatal diseases live longer than “realists,” quoting studies that show this and ignoring those that show the opposite.

A passionate, often counterintuitive, disturbingly convincing addition to the why-people-believe-stupid-things genre.

Kirkus Reviews