A psychology professor who is "one of the world's leading authorities on deception" describes and explains the prevalence and consequences of deception, including marital infidelity, little white lies, career-driven resume lies, and how we teach children to lie. He provides "evidence of how integral lying is to our culture." -- Publisher info.

"From the New York Times-bestselling author and host of NPR's Hidden Brain comes a counter- intertuitive, thought-provoking exploration of deception's role in human success. Everyone agrees that lies and self-deception can do terrible harm to our lives, to our communities, and to the planet. But in Useful Delusions, host of NPR's Hidden Brain Shankar Vedantam argues that, paradoxically, deceiving ourselves and others can also play a vital role in...

We live in a time when the very idea of objective truth is mocked and discounted by the occupants of the White House. Discredited conspiracy theories and ideologies have resurfaced, proven science is once more up for debate, and Russian propaganda floods our screens. The wisdom of the crowd has usurped research and expertise, and we are each left clinging to the beliefs that best confirm our biases. How did truth become an endangered species in contemporary...