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  • You Are Not So Smart

  • Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself
  • Written by: David McRaney
  • Narrated by: Don Hagen
  • Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (63 ratings)

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You Are Not So Smart

Written by: David McRaney
Narrated by: Don Hagen
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Publisher's Summary

An entertaining illumination of the stupid beliefs that make us feel wise.

You believe you are a rational, logical being who sees the world as it really is, but journalist David McRaney is here to tell you that you're as deluded as the rest of us. But that's OK - delusions keep us sane. You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of self-delusion. It's like a psychology class, with all the boring parts taken out, and with no homework.Based on the popular blog of the same name, You Are Not So Smart collects more than 46 of the lies we tell ourselves everyday, including:

  • Dunbar's Number - Humans evolved to live in bands of roughly 150 individuals, the brain cannot handle more than that number. If you have more than 150 Facebook friends, they are surely not all real friends.
  • Hindsight bias - When we learn something new, we reassure ourselves that we knew it all along.
  • Confirmation bias - Our brains resist new ideas, instead paying attention only to findings that reinforce our preconceived notions.
  • Brand loyalty - We reach for the same brand not because we trust its quality but because we want to reassure ourselves that we made a smart choice the last time we bought it.

©2011 David McRaney (P)2011 Gildan Media Corp

What the critics say

"In an Idiocracy dominated by cable TV bobbleheads, government propagandists, and corporate spinmeisters, many of us know that mass ignorance is a huge problem. Now, thanks to David McRaney's mind-blowing book, we can finally see the scientific roots of that problem. Anybody still self-aware enough to wonder why society now worships willful stupidity should read this book." ( David Sirota, author of Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live In Now)

What listeners say about You Are Not So Smart

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Eye opening

This is a definite reread/listen, as there is so much information to take in, simply awesome!

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Can't get through the first hour

Dry as jerky, this book bored me to death! Couldn't get the first hour down! still can't! Such a shame because I am so interested!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Don't take yourself too seriously

As humans we like to think we're smarter than we are and better than the animals, but we really shouldn't take ourselves so seriously. Some might find the author smug or the reading tone flippant, but it's a matter of not taking ourselves so seriously. I enjoyed the entire book immensely. This is a book that is going to get played again and again. It's like an operator's manual of the human psyche, and a great overview of psychological information.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing

Definitely kept my attention and enlightened me on so many aspects of everyday life.
"Ya godda listen to this one!"

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting but Condescending

Packed with studies and thought-experiments. Snappy and concise. Humorous. The tone just feels too condescending and cynical for me. If that's what you're looking for, it's a good fit. Kept my interest throughout.

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