Deluding Ourselves to Death

Insight Video: The human brain is easily fooled into believing things that simply aren’t true. When it comes to life-and-death issues, that can be disastrous.

If you believe life on this planet will go on indefinitely, then your brain may be playing tricks on you. How can we see beyond what we think we know?

We live at the dawn of a new “Enlightenment.” Only this one has little to do with reason and rationalism.

In this review, Vision looks at three books focusing on the cognitive tricks employed by the brain as it works to preserve our cherished beliefs and self-deceptions.

Though we’d all like to believe otherwise, our views and opinions may not stem from sound thinking. How can we ensure that wisdom prevails?

Science has given us answers to many questions, but what gives us confidence in those answers? Can what we come to believe actually bring about our demise?

Deceptions, hoaxes and urban legends abound, mainly because so many people are so easily taken in by them. Here’s how you can avoid being one of them.