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Useful Delusions

The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain

By: Shankar Vedantam, Bill Mesler

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Hardcover | 5 April 2021 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
264 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
2.36 x 1.6 x 0.25

Hardcover

RRP $45.95

$39.99

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From the small niceties that foster social cohesion to the large claims about the afterlife that allay our fear of mortality, humans constantly engage in forms of deception.

The lies we tell each other and ourselves explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don't.

In The Invisible City, Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler show that reason, logic, and data-the language of the rational brain-aren't enough to make us happy or bring meaning to our lives. They argue that stories, symbols, myths, and rituals-the dialects of the ancient "lizard brain"-are fundamental to human achievement as a cornerstone of business success, an effective tool in medicine, a way to bind communities and nations together.

Drawing on eye-opening true stories, literature, and wide-ranging studies in philosophy, neuroscience, and psychotherapy, The Invisible City is part journey through cutting-edge science, part roadmap to a happy life.

Industry Reviews

"A lively and digestible book... Perhaps the book's most important point advises how to combat destructive delusions." -- The Wall Street Journal
"In this scientifically informed, provocative and stylish study of self-deception, written with journalist Bill Mesler, [Shankar Vedantam] explores the risks and benefits of the lies we tell ourselves to preserve self-worth, relationships and social structures." -- Andrew Robinson, Five of the Week's Best Science Picks - Nature
"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 - The Washington Post
"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'." -- The New York Times Book Review

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