Book review: Kidding Ourselves: The Hidden Power of Self-Deception
Crown Publishers, New York, 2014
260 pages
This
is a quotable book. It’s a memorable book.
It’s
not an easy read, but the detail is accessible and the observations are
shockingly clear, and you’ll want to keep reading it right through to the end.
As
Hallinan might say, be optimistic—keep at it. You can do it.
From
the author’s introduction: “. . . the real reasons behind our human responses
often elude us. In their absence, we drum up plausible explanations, which are
frequently mere rationalizations, to explain why we’ve done the things we’ve
done . . .”
The
eye-opener is that much of this process of
“kidding ourselves” occurs in the subconscious—we don’t know we’re doing
it.
For
example, like the little engine that could, if we think we can do something we
are much more likely to be able to do that thing.
For
example, people with power are much more likely to think that they can get away
with doing whatever they want, and often they succeed.
For
example, if we believe something to be true, we are much more likely to accept
confirming evidence, and ignore or not even recognize non-confirming evidence.
For
example, try this one: if you’re a person who has some power in the public or
private sphere, grab a crayon and write the letter “E” on your forehead, and if
you’re a person who is or feels powerless, at work or at home, grab a crayon
and write the letter “E” on your forehead—see how that works out (p. 148).
Hallinan
doesn’t seem to mention it, but his book puts paid to more or less the entire
Western notion of human rationality and The Rational Man.
We
aren’t logical, rational, objective beings.
Read
the book.
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