Friday, May 9, 2008

The Advantage of Self-Deception and the Disadvantages of Truth

On this weeks RADIO LAB from WNYC, we learn a little about human nature. Download MP3.

This expose on Deception is a VERY Provocative adventure. It posits that self-deception (DENIAL) is a useful 'skill' that all 'successful' people have. That like "The Secret" or 'positive thinking', lying to yourself will give you a competitive edge.

"We're so vulnerable to being hurt, that we're given the capacity to distort as a gift." - That shook me up a bit.

What do you think are all 'honest people' just deceiving themselves. If not what evolutionary niche did we fill, that allowed us to not completely die off?

Then get some highlights from Noam Chomsky and Robert Trivers


Please leave your comments below.

1 comment:

Brutus said...

Cognitive Dissonance, the ability to convince oneself of the reality of a false belief despite hard evidence to the contrary, has always been a part of human nature. We use it in politics to justify injustice that benefits ourselves and our families. I've used it myself in my time.

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