Why do we believe lies?

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The problem is not that so many lies are told, but that even more people believe them. So wrote someone far more intelligent than ourselves, but we can’t remember who it was. But we believe them, as should you. For the internet (and public sphere generally for that matter) is awash with lies, half truths and fake news.

As good children of the Enlightenment we assumed that this couldn’t be Reason and the findings of science, it was confidently asseverated, would slowly wash away at all misconception error, facilitating a world of abundance and wisdom for all.

You may have noticed this hasn’t happened.

So once again, what is it that drives so many people to believe the stories of chancers, grifters, con artists, boiler room boosters and the rest of the mendacious melange who have done so much damage over the last fifteen years or so? What we have done today is to offer you an assortment of writers and researchers who consider this trope from a variety of angles and perspectives in the hope that you have time to consider this most pressing of issues.

Janice Wood of Psych Central looks at why people continue to believe lies even after they have been proved wrong

https://psychcentral.com/news/2018/09/23/why-do-we-believe-lies-even-after-they-are-proven-wrong#1

Bill Gates and Yuval Noah Harari (great duo!) have a podcast and a bit of test. Our advice is-when you come across people who are this bright, listen to what they say

https://www.gatesnotes.com/Podcast/Why-do-we-believe-lies

It’s not only other people who believe lies- you have probably done it too. An nice exercise in humility for us all from Michael Austin of Psychology Today:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ethics-everyone/202106/why-we-believe-lies-and-how-resist

Well there’s some jumping off points, but these tips of the iceberg which we have shown you are filled with good links and jumping-off points. We hope that you’ll take them, because this is the biggest issue of our times.

#lies #fakenews #deception #fraud #massdelusion #conspiracy theories