Don't Get Fooled Again


Book Description

Why is it that, time and again, intelligent, educated people end up falling for ideas that turn out on closer examination to be nonsense? We live in a supposedly rational age, yet crazy notions seem increasingly mainstream. New Age peddlers claim to cure Aids with vitamin tablets. Media gatekeepers stoke panic and regurgitate corporate press releases in the name of 'balance'. Wild-eyed men in sandwich boards blame it all on the CIA.Even the word 'sceptic' has been appropriated by cranks and conspiracy theorists bent on rewriting history and debunking sound science. But while it may be easier than ever for nonsense to spread, it's never been simpler to fight back. "Don't Get Fooled Again" offers practical tools for cutting through the claptrap and unravelling the spin - tackling propaganda, the psychology of deception, pseudo-news, bogus science, the weird cult of 'Aids reappraisal', numerous conspiracy theories (including the one about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq), and much more. Richard Wilson's book is user-friendly, enjoyable, shot through with polemic - and argues forcefully for a positive solution.




Don't Get Fooled!


Book Description

This book explains over one hundred types of logical fallacies, cognitive biases, and other mental errors so that readers see daily that will allow you to mount an armed mental defense against deception. Examples are composed of entertaining dialog between young adults, parents, coaches, and other characters. By avoiding religion, specific politicians, and hot-button social issues, you can learn critical thinking with fun, memorable scenes. Targeted at teens, yet the content is equally valuable to any adult.




You Won't Get Fooled Again


Book Description

Catalogs the lies found in daily life, paying particular attention to the falsehood-filled occasions, such as business negotiations, job interviews, used car shopping, and more. This work covers identifying characteristics of liars, including gender differences, verbal slips and physical tics, and evidence of confused thinking.




Don't Be Fooled


Book Description

America is being torn apart by the rise of new sources of news that have no respect for facts or democracy. Coupled with politicians who cast honest journalists as frauds and enemies of the public, they are eroding the informational common ground and poisoning the process of reaching consensus that democracy requires. Public trust in professional journalism has fallen to the lowest point since polls began to measure confidence in the news. That makes us prey for unscrupulous media actors who whip up resentment and hatred of fellow Americans with false and distorted news reports. Because each group now has its own set of "facts," disputes cannot be resolved logically. We are becoming a nation of warring tribes, even to the point where we no longer wish to associate with each other. As a consequence, lawmakers no longer agree on what's real, much less what to do about it. Congress can no more plot a safe course forward than a squirrel caught in traffic. The only solution that respects freedom of speech is to equip all citizens with some basic tools - habits of mind - enabling them to discern truth from falsehood in this new information ecology of confusion. It's vital that we learn to critically assess news and information because in a democracy a misinformed vote counts as much as a wise one. And everyone is equally bound by the outcome. This book presents a method - the SMELL test - for separating real from fake and misleading news. But it goes much further: * Assessing the dimensions of a communication revolution that's upending politics and altering every aspect of modern life; * Exploring the limited nature of facts; * Explaining the origins of bias and how to uncover them; * Showing how self-interest on the part of individuals and news organizations influences what becomes news; * Providing realistic standards for news quality; * Describing how to "read" images and video; * Exposing common ways spinmeisters manipulate the public, and finally: * Reviewing online tools and techniques for unmasking bias, including our own.




We Won't Get Fooled Again


Book Description

An expose of the Religious Right and Conservative movement in America over the last 30 years, where it has failed and how to once again restore righteousness back to America.




The Doctor Who Fooled the World


Book Description

Investigative reporter Brian Deer exposes a conspiracy of fraud and betrayal behind attacks on a mainstay of medicine: vaccinations. 2021 IPPY Book Award Winner (Gold) in Health/Medicine/Nutrition, Recipient of the Eric Hoffer Award for Nonfiction in the Culture Category. From San Francisco to Shanghai, from Vancouver to Venice, controversy over vaccines is erupting around the globe. Fear is spreading. Banished diseases have returned. And a militant "anti-vax" movement has surfaced to campaign against children's shots. But why? In The Doctor Who Fooled the World, award-winning investigative reporter Brian Deer exposes the truth behind the crisis. Writing with the page-turning tension of a detective story, he unmasks the players and unearths the facts. Where it began. Who was responsible. How they pulled it off. Who paid. At the heart of this dark narrative is the rise of the so-called "father of the anti-vaccine movement": a British-born doctor, Andrew Wakefield. Banned from medicine, thanks to Deer's discoveries, he fled to the United States to pursue his ambitions, and now claims to be winning a "war." In an epic investigation spread across fifteen years, Deer battles medical secrecy and insider cover-ups, smear campaigns and gagging lawsuits, to uncover rigged research and moneymaking schemes, the heartbreaking plight of families struggling with disability, and the scientific scandal of our time.




Won't Get Fooled Again


Book Description

From mid-1970 to early 1974, The Who undertook an amazing and peculiar journey in which they struggled to follow up Tommy with a yet bigger and better rock opera. One of those projects, Lifehouse, was never completed, though many of its songs formed the bulk of the classic 1971 album Who's Next. The other, Quadrophenia, was as down-to-earth as the multimedia Lifehouse was futuristic; issued as a double album in 1973, it eventually became esteemed as one of the Who's finest achievements, despite initial unfavourable comparisons to Tommy. Along the way, the group's visionary songwriter, Pete Townshend, battled conflicts within the band and their management, as well as struggling against the limits of the era's technology as a pioneering synthesizer user and a conceptualist trying to combine rock with film and theatre. The results included some of rock's most ambitious failures, and some of its most spectacular triumphs. In Won't Get Fooled Again: The Who From Lifehouse To Quadrophenia, noted rock writer and historian Richie Unterberger documents this intriguing period in detail, drawing on many new interviews; obscure rare archive sources and recordings; and a vast knowledge of the music of the times. The result is a comprehensive, articulate history that sheds new light on the band's innovations and Pete Townshend's massive ambitions, some of which still seem ahead of their time in the early 21st century.




One Piece, Vol. 57


Book Description

Join Monkey D. Luffy and his swashbuckling crew in their search for the ultimate treasure, One Piece! As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally gained the power to stretch like rubber…at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years, later, Luffy sets off in search of the “One Piece,” said to be the greatest treasure in the world... All-out war has broken out between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Navy. Whitebeard's crew is said to be the most powerful in the New World, but they'll have their hands full against the Navy Admirals and the remaining Warlords of the Sea. Meanwhile, can Luffy reach Navy headquarters in time to save his brother Ace?




Fooled by Randomness


Book Description

Fooled by Randomness is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand. The other books in the series are The Black Swan, Antifragile, Skin in the Game, and The Bed of Procrustes. Fooled by Randomness is the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about business and the world. Nassim Nicholas Taleb–veteran trader, renowned risk expert, polymathic scholar, erudite raconteur, and New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan–has written a modern classic that turns on its head what we believe about luck and skill. This book is about luck–or more precisely, about how we perceive and deal with luck in life and business. Set against the backdrop of the most conspicuous forum in which luck is mistaken for skill–the world of trading–Fooled by Randomness provides captivating insight into one of the least understood factors in all our lives. Writing in an entertaining narrative style, the author tackles major intellectual issues related to the underestimation of the influence of happenstance on our lives. The book is populated with an array of characters, some of whom have grasped, in their own way, the significance of chance: the baseball legend Yogi Berra; the philosopher of knowledge Karl Popper; the ancient world’s wisest man, Solon; the modern financier George Soros; and the Greek voyager Odysseus. We also meet the fictional Nero, who seems to understand the role of randomness in his professional life but falls victim to his own superstitious foolishness. However, the most recognizable character of all remains unnamed–the lucky fool who happens to be in the right place at the right time–he embodies the “survival of the least fit.” Such individuals attract devoted followers who believe in their guru’s insights and methods. But no one can replicate what is obtained by chance. Are we capable of distinguishing the fortunate charlatan from the genuine visionary? Must we always try to uncover nonexistent messages in random events? It may be impossible to guard ourselves against the vagaries of the goddess Fortuna, but after reading Fooled by Randomness we can be a little better prepared. Named by Fortune One of the Smartest Books of All Time A Financial Times Best Business Book of the Year




Fooled Ya!


Book Description

Don't be fooled by what your brain thinks you see! Fooled Ya! is a kid's guide to the mind bending world of illusions, perception, and why we can be tricked. Don't be fooled again, learn the tricks! Discover the variety of ways our brains can trick us, from the visual trickery of optical illusions, to magicians' masterful use of misdirection, to strategies used by con artists. You can't always trust your brain, learn why with Fooled Ya! and you'll be less likely to be swindled, hoodwinked, or bamboozled. Brian Z. Brain is your illustrated guide, he will explain the inner workings of your mind and what makes it tick. This mind bending guide to what you see and only think you see covers just about anything you could dream up. Sections include "Can You Trust Your Brain," "Fool the Five Senses," "How Magicians Mess with Your Mind," and "Learn to Be Less Gullible." Woven throughout are tons of articles that show off interesting stories and facts on subject ranging rang history, psychology, and even neuroscience! Named one of Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year, 2018!