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Not Born Yesterday: The Science of Who We Trust and What We Believe Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Hugo Mercier (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator), Recorded Books (Publisher)
4.3 out of 5 stars 116 ratings

Why people are not as gullible as we think

Not Born Yesterday explains how we decide who we can trust and what we should believe - and argues that we're pretty good at making these decisions. In this lively and provocative book, Hugo Mercier demonstrates how virtually all attempts at mass persuasion - whether by religious leaders, politicians, or advertisers - fail miserably. Drawing on recent findings from political science and other fields ranging from history to anthropology, Mercier shows that the narrative of widespread gullibility, in which a credulous public is easily misled by demagogues and charlatans, is simply wrong.

Why is mass persuasion so difficult? Mercier uses the latest findings from experimental psychology to show how each of us is endowed with sophisticated cognitive mechanisms of open vigilance. Computing a variety of cues, these mechanisms enable us to be on guard against harmful beliefs, while being open enough to change our minds when presented with the right evidence. Even failures - when we accept false confessions, spread wild rumors, or fall for quack medicine - are better explained as bugs in otherwise well-functioning cognitive mechanisms than as symptoms of general gullibility.

Not Born Yesterday shows how we filter the flow of information that surrounds us, argues that we do it well, and explains how we can do it better still.

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  1. Listening Length
    9 hours and 45 minutes
  2. Author
    Hugo Mercier
  3. Narrator
    Jonathan Todd Ross
  4. Audible release date
    January 28, 2020
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Recorded Books
  7. ASIN
    B0847SM7V8
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 45 minutes
Author Hugo Mercier
Narrator Jonathan Todd Ross
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date January 28, 2020
Publisher Recorded Books
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0847SM7V8
Best Sellers Rank

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
116 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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  • J. Rothwell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant insight on important topic
    Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2022
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I've been increasingly frustrated and dismayed by the illogical things people commonly say on social media and the seemingly bizarre and contradictory beliefs so many people hold. I've been on the lookout for analysis that would help make sense of this, and Hugo Mercier's book provides it. With deep grounding in evolutionary theory, he builds a layered argument that seemingly insane human thoughts and behavior have at least a somewhat rational basis and should often be interpreted figuratively, in terms of how they signal group membership--rather than accepted as actual beliefs. I will be thinking about the insights of this book for many years to come and will share the ideas widely.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • PG
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
    Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Interesting book, not the best writer. I found myself having to go back and reread some things to make sure I understood the point he was trying to make. That could say more about me than about Mercier. But my opinion is the book could have been a little clearer.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Oscar Buttazzoni Alvarez
    5.0 out of 5 stars Descripcion del razonamiento
    Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2024
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Es una nueva descripcion de los mecanismos de la confianza, la desconfianza, la manipulacion, la seduccion, la incitacion y la candidez.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Joel B. Rothman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Easy fun and enlightening
    Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2020
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Brilliant and a joy to read.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Zuff
    3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting at times, but not convincing.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2022
    Format: Audible Audiobook
    The author, Hugo mercier repeats that we are not guilible people who will change their minds just because we are simply told so. Of course, we are not guilible - we do not need a whole book for knowing that. But Mercier also makes less trivial and more controversial claims, that media marketing, and public relation companies do not succeed as they claim, and Mercier gives a lot of exmples and analysis in support of his claim, and here is the main problem - most of the examples that he gives, are example of naive direct efforts to make fast changes in the people's opinions. These, indeed are likely to have almost no effect on us. PR companies are much more sophisticated than that. Most of the PR work today is with indirect and slow pace methods that are not mentioned in this book, or are mentioned but as if they are the rare exception.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • bacon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book about human reasoning or the lack thereof
    Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2020
    Format: Kindle
    This is one of those books with a title that doesn't entirely encompass the argument made within, outlining the various evolutionary/self-serving reasons we choose to think (or not think) the things we do. The author is very convincing and makes a good case that humans aren't as stupid as they might sometimes seem, for things that really count to their day-to-day lives (which, something like a belief about a conspiracy theory, might have little actual import).
    One person found this helpful
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  • Jay
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking book
    Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2020
    Format: Audible Audiobook
    With a great deal of research on psychology and religion under my belt, this book almost instantly moved into my short list of favorites. In fact, it has done a better job of answering some longstanding questions I have had better than any book I have (my Audible library is currently +500 books).

    It is a little bit along the lines of understanding human biases, similar to "Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)." But rather than just going over the same old tired things, it actually heads into new territory ("Mistakes Were Made" is also a favorite of mine).

    I have no small amount of books on the origins of religions, evolutionary psychology, and the psychology of religion. Hugo Mercier explained more about why people hold religious beliefs, and sometimes quite crazy ones, in a couple of chapters, than any one book I have on the subject does.

    I have thought about some of the things in this book quite a bit. I never could quite take it to the level Mercier has here.

    One of the things he says if you want to get to the truth is to get a lot of different perspectives on the subject. That said, while I loved this book, I disagree with Mercier on a few things.

    For one, to understand bloodletting, get a copy of Survival of the Sickest, by Dr. Sharon Moalem and Jonathan Prince. After bloodletting was pushed for every illness known to man or beast, it does sound silly. But bloodletting was actually good for something. Bacterial infections take iron in your blood, and bloodletting depletes iron. This allowed people to survive bacterial infections before antibiotics. Even though it became a crazy thing, there was an actual medical reason people were doing it.

    Also, I don't know if it is a French thing or what, but I don't think Mercier understands the difference between "Fake News" and satire. I had to roll my eyes a couple of times because I swear some of his "Fake News" citations were, if not The Onion, were something similar.

    All in all, the other book that came to mind while listening to "Not Born Yesterday," was, "The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics."

    When I first listened to the Dictator's Handbook, it was a mixture of "duh" and amazement at how insightful it was. Some of it was just common sense, and some of it seemed groundbreaking.

    That's how I felt listening to "Not Born Yesterday." A little bit of "duh," mixed with, "I wish I had had this book decades ago." All in all, it might do for psychology and religion what "Dictator's Handbook" did for politics.

    And finally, I believe somewhere down the line that there is going to be some type of fMRI-type device that can be used as a very accurate lie detector. I think a lot of people are going to be put on the spot about just exactly how much they really believe some of the crazy things they say they do. In my opinion, these will be good times.
    14 people found this helpful
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  • Eric Greenbaum
    2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't prove his case
    Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2022
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This book is example of that just because someone claims he has it right when everyone else has it wrong and even gets his idea published means he has the goods to support him. At best this book shows that gullibility is a complex trait and to make a blanket statement that "everybody is gullible" is not accurate but he starts off biting off far more than that,
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Adarsh
    4.0 out of 5 stars Came on time, and the book is in good shape.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Few chapters into the book and I’m really liking it.
    Package was shipped properly without any trouble and reached on time. The paper quality is also great.
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  • Uta C. Groeschel
    4.0 out of 5 stars the answers sometimes follow a bit later
    Reviewed in Germany on March 24, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Reading this book about trust and gullibility you might find yourself to be protesting inwardly and to ask „how-bout-that-example“-type questions. Mercier does explain these questions and introduces interesting distinctions like “affective” polarization instead of polarization of opinions. He establishes a well thought-out counterpoint to the conventional wisdom about trust and vigilance and the stories he uses to illustrate his ideas are often novel and unexpected.
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  • patricio
    5.0 out of 5 stars El mostrar una alternativa al pensamiento general sobre la manipulación
    Reviewed in Spain on April 23, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Aunque quizá innecesariamente prolija, es una estupenda argumentación en contra del pensamiento dominante de que la batalla contra las 'fake news' está perdida de antemano
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