Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain
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- Create Date：2021-03-25 13:27:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Shankar Vedantam
- ISBN：0393652203
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
G
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Very interesting， but not a book to my liking。
Rick
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I usually listen to the "Hidden Brain" podcast when I am in bed at night with the lights dimmed and my iPad's light minimized。 Sometimes， something is said that I want to remember， but unless I take a note， I usually forget it the next day。 It's much easier to remember Shankar Vedantam's thoughts in a book。 I can underline， and review my underlining at a later date。 For example， one thought from this book that resonated with me is as follows: "Show me people who have no need for lies， and I will I usually listen to the "Hidden Brain" podcast when I am in bed at night with the lights dimmed and my iPad's light minimized。 Sometimes， something is said that I want to remember， but unless I take a note， I usually forget it the next day。 It's much easier to remember Shankar Vedantam's thoughts in a book。 I can underline， and review my underlining at a later date。 For example， one thought from this book that resonated with me is as follows: "Show me people who have no need for lies， and I will show you happy， well-adjusted people whose lives are marked by good health， professional success， and material comfort。" 。。。more
Lochsley
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If you've listened to all the episodes of Hidden Brain a lot of the book will sound familiar。 Shankar revisits many themes he's explored on the podcast。 It's still an enjoyable read and gives you things to think about。 As a casual reader and not a serious phycologist I found all the information very accessible and relatable。 If you've listened to all the episodes of Hidden Brain a lot of the book will sound familiar。 Shankar revisits many themes he's explored on the podcast。 It's still an enjoyable read and gives you things to think about。 As a casual reader and not a serious phycologist I found all the information very accessible and relatable。 。。。more
Zhuo Zhang
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I've been a very faithful listen of Shankar's "Hidden Brain" Podcast for years。 Thus I am very excited to see the book written by him。 The main point of the book is revealed in the book title， and the author has used quiet a few examples to show us the importance and benefits of self-delusion。 The structure of the book is very clear。 Thus， when I read till the last part， it seems so natural to absorb what he has written。 It is a very interesting topic and I really like the last paragraph of this I've been a very faithful listen of Shankar's "Hidden Brain" Podcast for years。 Thus I am very excited to see the book written by him。 The main point of the book is revealed in the book title， and the author has used quiet a few examples to show us the importance and benefits of self-delusion。 The structure of the book is very clear。 Thus， when I read till the last part， it seems so natural to absorb what he has written。 It is a very interesting topic and I really like the last paragraph of this book as a conclusion。 。。。more
Luis Salazar
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Useful delusionsThe power of belief fostered by evolution sheds light on the value of objective viewpoint and traditional and how the human mind actually balances these to get to not what is true but to what works
☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣
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Q:We are not just in a war with con artists， conspiracy theorists and demagogues。 We are in a war with ourselves。 Our minds are not designed to see the truth， but to show us selective slices of reality， and to prompt us toward predetermined goals。 Even worse， they are designed to do all this while giving us the illusion that we are seeing reality。 We can believe that we are thinking clearly， acting rationally and fighting for the truth， even as we are beguiled into seeing what is functional for Q:We are not just in a war with con artists， conspiracy theorists and demagogues。 We are in a war with ourselves。 Our minds are not designed to see the truth， but to show us selective slices of reality， and to prompt us toward predetermined goals。 Even worse， they are designed to do all this while giving us the illusion that we are seeing reality。 We can believe that we are thinking clearly， acting rationally and fighting for the truth， even as we are beguiled into seeing what is functional for our groups， our families and ourselves—and imagining it to be the truth。 （c）Q:One criticism that both Democrats and Republicans made of President Donald Trump is that he lacked a filter。 If he thought Mexicans coming over the border were rapists， he said so。 Of course， another term to describe such behavior is “candor。” You knew where you stood when you spoke with The Donald， since he made his mind abundantly clear in a stream of tweets， insults and inflated claims。 For a long time， Americans dreamed of getting a president who was “authentic。” But throughout the Trump presidency， most Democrats， and large numbers of Republicans， wished they could install a filter between Trump’s brain and his mouth。 They wanted him to shut up about things he clearly believed were true。 （c）Q:Oddly， given how much we say we care about the truth， we don’t have positive things to say about people who just say what is on their minds。 We don’t have a word for someone who doesn’t lie enough when the rules of social engagement demand it。 But we know such people when we see them。 They come across as cold or cruel。 （c）Q:If we were stronger and wiser creatures—less Lear-like—you could simply tell us the truth and we would welcome it。 But since we are vain and insecure， fearful and petty， fragile and weak， only a fool presents the unvarnished truth and expects to be properly heard。 （c）Q:Rudeness in the workplace can impair how we think and act。 In one experiment， volunteers asked to show up at a lab were greeted by a “professor” who told them that the meeting room had changed。 Some volunteers were politely directed to another room。 Others were told: “Can’t you read？ There is a sign on the door that tells you that the experiment will be in [a different room]。 But you didn’t even bother to look at the door， did you？ Instead， you preferred to disturb me and ask for directions when you can clearly see that I am busy。 I am not a secretary here， I am a busy professor。” Volunteers spoken to rudely subsequently solved fewer anagram puzzles， and demonstrated less creativity when it came to thinking up different uses for a brick。 They were also less helpful to others。 Nearly three-quarters of the volunteers spoken to politely helped another person pick up dropped books without being asked。 Of the volunteers spoken to rudely， not even a quarter offered unsolicited help。 （c） This is probably one of the mechanisms of how horrible workplaces impair people。Q:The researchers set up an experiment。 Subjects with and without depression were asked to press a button next to a blinking green light。 Volunteers were asked to judge how much influence their button pressing had over the light’s blinking。 Traditionally， people suffering from depression were thought to harbor an unrealistically negative view of the world—a delusional negativity was seen to be the cause of their despondency。 Alloy and Abramson were surprised to find depressed people showed a “surprising degree of accuracy” in judging how the blinking light was affected by their manipulation of the button。 Meanwhile， the non-depressed subjects consistently overrated their ability to control the blinking light。 In other words， the gap between the groups was not caused by the healthy group seeing reality clearly and the depressed people seeing the world with delusional pessimism。 No， the “healthy” group had a delusion of control while their “unhealthy” counterparts were seeing reality clearly。 The subtitle of the psychologists’ paper was “Sadder but Wiser。 （c） 。。。more
Lou
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Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain is the fascinating new book from Shankar Vedantam， longtime science correspondent and host of the radio podcast Hidden Brain， and co-written by science writer Bill Mesler， which posits that a certain amount of delusion is essential for our well being and our will to live。 It builds on ideas from The Hidden Brain and explores the frequent utility， and occasional necessity， of intuitive and nonrational thinking。 Not only are we de Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain is the fascinating new book from Shankar Vedantam， longtime science correspondent and host of the radio podcast Hidden Brain， and co-written by science writer Bill Mesler， which posits that a certain amount of delusion is essential for our well being and our will to live。 It builds on ideas from The Hidden Brain and explores the frequent utility， and occasional necessity， of intuitive and nonrational thinking。 Not only are we delusional， we actually evolved that way via natural selection because cheerful blindness about some aspects of life helps us survive better。 The classic example is something like climate change， right？ The evidence for climate change is quite dramatic， quite persuasive。 It comes to us from different fields of study: environmental science， pollution studies， oceanography， the study of the Arctic and sea life and species decline。 There are just so many different ways in which you can see how climate change is affecting us。 And yet， vast numbers of people either don't believe in climate change， or if they believe in it， they don't act as if they believe in it。 It doesn't actually change their behavior。 And we keep acting like that the 367th study is going to convince people when the first 366 studies have not。 Much of the time， our behavior is not shaped by what is rational; it’s shaped by habits， by norms， by our cultures， by our beliefs。 These are the things that are powerful in shaping our views。 So if you want to fight climate change， you have to be able to enlist those beliefs， which are not necessarily the domain of the logical， rational brain。 We may need to use older， emotion-based systems to accomplish those goals。 Many interesting and unsettling examples are given to prove their point， including how our response to the question “how are you？” is quite often dishonest but that the asker really wasn't looking for an honest answer。 In the late 1980s， a group known as ”The Church of Love” sent affectionate letters allegedly from anguished young women to lonely men， many of whom not only invested substantial time and effort writing back but who also sent substantial amounts of money。 At the trial of the mastermind， many of the victims， despite being informed of the facts， passionately defended him。 They also address the placebo effect which makes for intriguing reading and the delusional facade people portray on social media。 Its well known that those more in touch with what is realistically happening across the world are more depressed than those who delude themselves into thinking that everything is okay。 I can certainly attest to the fact that being a realist can impact not only your mental health but physical too。 Whether we are talking about religion， relationships， medicine， or commerce， the ways in which our brains trick us （or lead us to be easily tricked by others） can certainly be harmful or even deadly。 We also harshly judge others for being so easily tricked。 But crippling existential dread is not conducive to human flourishing， even if it constitutes the last word in "getting real" or "being truthful。" Many of our useful delusions can promote our health and our well-being in numerous ways， and the writers argue that this is profoundly important。 They maintain that some deceptions are functional and enable us ”to accomplish useful social， psychological， or biological goals。 Holding false beliefs is not always the mark of idiocy， pathology， or villainy。” What follows is an urging for everyone to be compassionate and consider others' perspectives even if they seem irrational， illogical or untrue。 Referencing both historical resources and popular culture， the authors show how the lies we tell are often societal niceties。 This is a fascinating read that is accessible and extensively researched and it's interesting to see a meditation on the positive side of delusional thinking and a well-constructed counter argument to those books that explore the downside of self-deception; I tend to agree with most of what was presented。 It's an engaging， ingenious and deeply convincing account of why people believe stupid things。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Andrea Wenger
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This is a fascinating look at how the brain uses delusions at a conscious and subconscious level to increase happiness and longevity。 The book uses a combination of science and anecdote。 It's both informative and entertaining， easy to read and understand。 Thanks， NetGalley， for the ARC I received。 This is my honest and voluntary review。 This is a fascinating look at how the brain uses delusions at a conscious and subconscious level to increase happiness and longevity。 The book uses a combination of science and anecdote。 It's both informative and entertaining， easy to read and understand。 Thanks， NetGalley， for the ARC I received。 This is my honest and voluntary review。 。。。more
Jessi
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I liked the idea of this book。 When can self-delusion be helpful in our day-to-day life？ Can it EVER be helpful？ I have always believed that deluding myself works in wonderful ways and Vendatam and Mesler would agree。I thought one of the most interesting studies was in wine tasting when people's brain scans actually showed that the pleasure center lit up more when tasting a wine they had been told was $90 even though it was the same as the $10 bottle。 Does that mean the people who pay more for w I liked the idea of this book。 When can self-delusion be helpful in our day-to-day life？ Can it EVER be helpful？ I have always believed that deluding myself works in wonderful ways and Vendatam and Mesler would agree。I thought one of the most interesting studies was in wine tasting when people's brain scans actually showed that the pleasure center lit up more when tasting a wine they had been told was $90 even though it was the same as the $10 bottle。 Does that mean the people who pay more for wine will always enjoy it more？ Maybe。 But price isn't the only thing that can "trick" our brain like that。 It can also be the story behind a product or brand。There are several of these studies interwoven with the story of a letter writing scheme where lonely hearts would write to each other。 However， it turned out most of the women in these exchanges were semi or wholly fictitious。 Yet many of the men defended the fraudster。 Why？ Well， the book explains。 If you consider yourself a rationalist， this may not be a good book for you because it will change how you define "rational。"Three and a half stars rounded up 。。。more
Shirley Freeman
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Most folks probably know of the author from his Hidden Brain podcast， book or public radio show。 Not being a consistent podcast listener， I can’t comment on whether the material in this book is a repeat of things already on the airwaves but I really liked this accessible book on the delusions to which we all subscribe。 About 10 years ago， Vedantam began to investigate the founder of the Church of Love – a cult-like organization with a bizarre history of writing letters to lonely men purporting t Most folks probably know of the author from his Hidden Brain podcast， book or public radio show。 Not being a consistent podcast listener， I can’t comment on whether the material in this book is a repeat of things already on the airwaves but I really liked this accessible book on the delusions to which we all subscribe。 About 10 years ago， Vedantam began to investigate the founder of the Church of Love – a cult-like organization with a bizarre history of writing letters to lonely men purporting to be women in need of love and compassion。 Thousands of men responded with letters， and of course money。 The bizarre part is that even after the scheme was proven to be a scam， many of the men still felt comfort and hope from the long distance ‘relationships。’ What Vedantam discovered as he interviewed the Church of Love’s founder （from his jail cell） and several of the ‘scammed’ men caused him to re-think the idea that rationality is the pinnacle of a well-lived life。 An interesting and thought-provoking book！ 。。。more
Laura
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3。5 but I’m rounding down because there was a lot spent on the Church of Love。This book wowed me with science。 When I think of the fact that my eyes take in more information than my brain knows what to do with so it figured out short cuts， I felt like reality became a lie。 When I learned other ways that delusion actually helps the survival of humans， it was mind-bending。The book spends a bit too long talking about the Church of Love。 While a good example， it felt like an odd spot to take an exte 3。5 but I’m rounding down because there was a lot spent on the Church of Love。This book wowed me with science。 When I think of the fact that my eyes take in more information than my brain knows what to do with so it figured out short cuts， I felt like reality became a lie。 When I learned other ways that delusion actually helps the survival of humans， it was mind-bending。The book spends a bit too long talking about the Church of Love。 While a good example， it felt like an odd spot to take an extended case study。 The last three chapters， thematically， felt a bit off after it as a result。Otherwise this is great for people like me who loved the show Brain Games and other media about how the mind works！ Thank you to the publisher for an ARC。 。。。more
V
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Useful Delusions by Shankar Vedantam is a non-fiction book about the lies we tell ourselves， tell others， and let ourselves believe。 Vandamtam argues that society operates on lies， even though many of us hold truth as a core value in life。 We tell little white lies to spare others' feelings， or to save embarrassment， or a whole other range of negative social outcomes。 I found reading about both the psychology of why we lie， and the case study of the Church of Love really interesting。 The Chu Useful Delusions by Shankar Vedantam is a non-fiction book about the lies we tell ourselves， tell others， and let ourselves believe。 Vandamtam argues that society operates on lies， even though many of us hold truth as a core value in life。 We tell little white lies to spare others' feelings， or to save embarrassment， or a whole other range of negative social outcomes。 I found reading about both the psychology of why we lie， and the case study of the Church of Love really interesting。 The Church of Love was an American postal scam in which men were conned into thinking they were writing to women who needed their financial help， when in reality it was a team of people， started by a man， writing these fake letters。 When the scam was revealed， some of the scammed men went to court to defend the scammer。 This is because the lie they were believing in gave value to their lives。 It made them feel less alone， and needed。 Vedantam really does make a convincing case that we need lies in order to survive。 Fascinating。 。。。more
Mandy Hazen
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This book takes an empathetic approach and gives bite size approaches and allows you to have kindness and patience with yourself when dealing with life。 This is so necessary for everyone to read in life。 Highly recommend。 Especially loved the reflection to true life to humanize my feelings and relate。 I received an advance review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。
Lisa Konet
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This was better than I thought it was going to be and I enjoyed the insights this author had about other people's "truths。" However， this was highly opinion based and not backed by much research。 Some of the observations were spot on， at times for how we as people perceive other people around us。 I was just left with an ok feeling after reading this。 Easy to read this in a few days。 Overall， just ok by me but other people may like these insights more than me。Thanks to Netgalley， Shankar Vedantam This was better than I thought it was going to be and I enjoyed the insights this author had about other people's "truths。" However， this was highly opinion based and not backed by much research。 Some of the observations were spot on， at times for how we as people perceive other people around us。 I was just left with an ok feeling after reading this。 Easy to read this in a few days。 Overall， just ok by me but other people may like these insights more than me。Thanks to Netgalley， Shankar Vedantam and WW Norton & Company for an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 All thoughts and opinions are my own。Available: 3/2/21 。。。more
MP
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I was excited to see a book by Shankar Vedantam because I’m a fan of his Hidden Brain podcast。 It’s not hard to understand that we all engage in varying levels of self-deception oftentimes just to smooth over interpersonal transactions， get through tough personal times and create social bonds。 Vendantam uses his trademark style to share a variety of examples ranging from standard issue white lies to a rather wild romantic con to the surprising prevalence of placebo effects to the under appreciat I was excited to see a book by Shankar Vedantam because I’m a fan of his Hidden Brain podcast。 It’s not hard to understand that we all engage in varying levels of self-deception oftentimes just to smooth over interpersonal transactions， get through tough personal times and create social bonds。 Vendantam uses his trademark style to share a variety of examples ranging from standard issue white lies to a rather wild romantic con to the surprising prevalence of placebo effects to the under appreciated role of religious rituals。 But what happens when the development of some beliefs lead to social fracturing and divisiveness？ The book only starts to touch on some of this in the last chapters with a look at ISIS and Nazis。 There are some brief mentions of the current socio-political climate。 While it’s possible to extract your own conclusions， I wish it had been explored more specifically。 I wish there were some discussion on how to counter the spread of truly harmful delusions。 Vedantam acknowledges that his intention is to show a positive side to self-deception not to embrace all delusional thinking。 For sure， humans need hope and optimism to survive， but when the subsequent narrative results in serious self-harm， or threats and violence to those outside a specific group， we have to acknowledge that the self-deceiving brain， the rejection of science， reason and logic， is also a very real danger。 The big question that needs answers is what to do about it。 Sadly， I think I would’ve been more receptive to the idea of “useful delusions” if the political climate were not what it is today。 It’s still an engaging and thought-provoking read though。 Thank you to W。W。 Norton for providing me with an advance reading copy。 。。。more
Chris Markley
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This timely book explores why people believe what they know is a lie。Thanks to W。W。 Norton for providing an ARC for my honest review。
Andrienne
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There are plenty of compelling points here to wonder about pretty much everything that you think you know about how to function and feel secure about。 It's eye-opening and it does say a lot about religion that many might find disconcerting。 Once you read this book， it will be hard to un-know things about truth and lies， social harmony， and one's beliefs。 Thanks to the publisher for letting me read early。 There are plenty of compelling points here to wonder about pretty much everything that you think you know about how to function and feel secure about。 It's eye-opening and it does say a lot about religion that many might find disconcerting。 Once you read this book， it will be hard to un-know things about truth and lies， social harmony， and one's beliefs。 Thanks to the publisher for letting me read early。 。。。more
Rory Fox
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We’re all constantly deluded。 In fact， people’s lives could often be improved if only they were a bit more deluded。 This is the surprising message of ‘Useful Delusions。’The book presents two different perspectives。 On the one hand there is a fascinating catalogue of examples of deceptions and foibles。 Then there is an argument and conclusion that deception is good for us and， we should do it more。I enjoyed the descriptive side of the book。 We hear how people tricked by fake churches rejected at We’re all constantly deluded。 In fact， people’s lives could often be improved if only they were a bit more deluded。 This is the surprising message of ‘Useful Delusions。’The book presents two different perspectives。 On the one hand there is a fascinating catalogue of examples of deceptions and foibles。 Then there is an argument and conclusion that deception is good for us and， we should do it more。I enjoyed the descriptive side of the book。 We hear how people tricked by fake churches rejected attempts to ‘save’ them。 We hear of placebo effects （17%） and fake medicine which has real effects。 We hear of Military cults which became successful because they believed they were bullet proof （62%）。 We hear of customers with very different views about Toyota Corollas and Geo Prizm’s， even though they are exactly the same car （26%）。 And there are many， many more examples of illusions， delusions and deceptions。 One of the surprising conclusions of these examples is that deception is genuinely good for us。 For example， when people tasted a wine which they mistakenly thought was expensive， brain scans showed that they had genuinely increased sensations of pleasure （28%）。The argumentative side of the book was less convincing。 The book makes the point that we are all lying for much of the time。 And the world would be a better place if we lied more。 Indeed， the author suggests that our whole obsession with truth is just a mistake and we should focus on what works， not on what is true （89%）。 This ‘pragmatism’ can seem to be seductively attractive。 But as a policy idea it quickly collapses。 The reason why deception and lying works （when it does work） is because people think it is not lying。 Deception is only possible against a backdrop of normality which rejects lying。 If we had a world where everyone thought that it was good to lie all the time， then no one would be able to trust anyone else， and so relationships and society would quickly fall apart。 Normalising lying and deception is therefore an impossible idea。A key problem with the book is that it never clarifies what it means by lying and deception。 Language is complicated and some statements can be both true and false。 For example， ‘the boy is a pig’ may be literally false， whilst also being metaphorically true。 This means falsity does not entail lying （or deception）。 The book doesn’t recognise this kind of sophistication， so its assumptions about truth and lies are sometimes too simplistic。This over-simplification also occurs when the author claims that social etiquette and ritual language are examples of daily lying。 For example， the question ‘how are you？’ generally elicits a ritualistic reply of ‘I’m very well thank you， how are you？’ Is it a lie to say this when you have a headache？ These are complicated questions within the philosophy of language， but they are not explored in the book。 This means that the author is making assumptions about what counts as lying， without actually explaining or defending those assumptions。Overall， I enjoyed the examples and anecdotes， and I appreciated the 10% of the book devoted to additional notes。 But I was disappointed by the book’s arguments and conclusions， as they seemed too simplistic。（These comments are based on a copy of the text kindly donated by the publishers for the purposes of review）。 。。。more
Ben Ostrowsky
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Sometimes you’re better off letting people lie to you， and even lying to yourself。 That’s the surprising， but well-argued， conclusion of Useful Delusions。 Some people， for example， corresponded with romantic pen pals for years， sending money and other gifts。 But their pen pals didn’t actually exist。 They were fictions created in a scam called the Church of Love。 Were the gift-givers， then， victims of fraud？ You’d think so。 But some of them resented that the letter-writers had been arrested and e Sometimes you’re better off letting people lie to you， and even lying to yourself。 That’s the surprising， but well-argued， conclusion of Useful Delusions。 Some people， for example， corresponded with romantic pen pals for years， sending money and other gifts。 But their pen pals didn’t actually exist。 They were fictions created in a scam called the Church of Love。 Were the gift-givers， then， victims of fraud？ You’d think so。 But some of them resented that the letter-writers had been arrested and even testified in their defense。 The belief they were in a loving relationship had been a positive one， they said。Okay， that’s an extreme case。 But the authors point out so many other ways in which self-deception is actually helpful to us。Most of us act as if we’re happy to see customers and co-workers， even when we aren’t—and they do the same for us。 We get more enjoyment out of things we pay more for， even when they’re identical to lower-priced options。 Patients who believe they’ll live longer than the data would suggest do， in fact， tend to live longer。Here’s the thing: Our brains are great at passing on our genes to the next generation， and not so great at perceiving objective reality in every detail。 The mental shortcuts baked into our operating system give us a somewhat accurate and mostly useful idea of what’s going on。 When we find ourselves in a truly dystopian situation like being a civilian during a genocidal civil war， experiencing a ritual for bulletproofing might actually help to keep you alive。 On the other hand， patriotic and religious beliefs can preserve an entire society even as they cost individual people their lives。This book is well-organized， and easy to pick up again after a break。 A few fascinating stories of extreme self-deception （like the pen pals） weave throughout the narrative， showing up to illustrate a point or to delve deeper into the case study。 Since it isn’t designed for academic use， there’s no index—but the well-planned organization of chapters certainly helps。I am grateful to the authors， the publisher， and NetGalley for a free advance review copy。 。。。more
Heather Jones
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Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free digital galley of this book in exchange for feedback。"Useful Delusions" reads like an extra-long episode of "Hidden Brain" - Shankar Vendantam's voice is more distinctive than I had realized， I think。 It makes a case that a certain amount of self-deception is helpful， even necessary， to living a happy life， with stories of people who've found contentment and health in their faith in demonstrable falsehoods。 At the center of the book is the story of Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free digital galley of this book in exchange for feedback。"Useful Delusions" reads like an extra-long episode of "Hidden Brain" - Shankar Vendantam's voice is more distinctive than I had realized， I think。 It makes a case that a certain amount of self-deception is helpful， even necessary， to living a happy life， with stories of people who've found contentment and health in their faith in demonstrable falsehoods。 At the center of the book is the story of the "Church of Love，" which tricked thousands of men into thinking they were writing to， and sending gifts to， a real woman who needed their help and support。This was well worth reading。 。。。more
Brandon Westlake
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