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Being Wrong

Kathryn Schulz

2010272 pagesabout 4–6 hours
2010
first published
  • 2010HarperCollins Publishers · ENGISBN 9780061997938
  • 2011Ecco · 405 pagesISBN 9780061176050
  • 2010Ecco · 416 pagesISBN 9780061176043
  • 2010Brand: Portobello Books · 272 pagesISBN 9781846270734

Being wrong is an inescapable part of being alive. And yet we go through life tacitly assuming (or loudly insisting) that we are right about nearly everything - from our political beliefs to our private memories, from our grasp of scientific fact to the merits of our favourite team. Being Wrong looks at why this conviction has such a powerful grip on us, what happens when this conviction is shaken, and how we interpret the moral, political and psychological significance of being wrong. Drawing on philosophies old and new and cutting-edge neuroscience, Schulz offers an exploration of the allure of certainty and the necessity of fallibility in four main areas: in religion (when the end of the world fails to be nigh); in politics (where were those WMD?); in memory (where are my keys?); and in love (when Mr or Ms Right becomes Mr or Ms Wrong).

How do you feel?