Books › The misinformation age
The misinformation age
280 pages
An analytical deep dive into the social machinery that allows false beliefs to thrive in the modern world.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping back from the chaotic noise of modern media to examine the underlying gears of human belief. It maintains a steady, analytical pace, guiding the reader through the complex intersection of cognitive psychology and sociology. The mood is sobering yet deeply inquisitive, replacing the frustration of fake news with a clear-eyed look at the social forces that allow alternative facts to flourish. The prose is argumentative and grounded, breaking down philosophical questions about truth and consequence into accessible insights. It is a thought-provoking experience designed for readers who want to understand the collective mechanics of misinformation rather than just blaming individual ignorance, offering a vital lens for navigating our current information landscape.
- Mood
- intellectual
- sobering
- inquisitive
- Tone
- analytical
- urgent
- objective
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- social nature of belief · mechanics of misinformation · truth versus falsehood · collective psychology
- The writing
- Clear, argumentative, and grounded in philosophical and scientific inquiry.
- The arc
- Moves from a foundational questioning of why truth matters to a sobering realization of how social forces shape our reality.
- Who it's for
- Readers fascinated by cognitive science, sociology, and the mechanics behind the modern crisis of truth.
Content notes
- discussions of fake news and political misinformation
About the book
Why should we care about having true beliefs? And why do demonstrably false beliefs persist and spread despite consequences for the people who hold them? Philosophers of science Cailin O'Connor and James Weatherall argue that social factors, rather than individual psychology, are what's essential to understanding the spread and persistence of false belief. It might seem that there's an obvious reason that true beliefs matter: false beliefs will hurt you. But if that's right, then why is it (apparently) irrelevant to many people whether they believe true things or not? In an age riven by "fake news," "alternative facts," and disputes over the validity of everything from climate change to the size of inauguration crowds, the authors argue that social factors, not individual psychology, are what's essential to understanding the persistence of false belief and that we must know how those social forces work in order to fight misinformation effectively.
Description from Open Library.
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