Preview
  • Not Born Yesterday

  • The Science of Who We Trust and What We Believe
  • By: Hugo Mercier
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
  • Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (61 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Not Born Yesterday

By: Hugo Mercier
Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Why people are not as gullible as we think

Not Born Yesterday explains how we decide who we can trust and what we should believe - and argues that we're pretty good at making these decisions. In this lively and provocative book, Hugo Mercier demonstrates how virtually all attempts at mass persuasion - whether by religious leaders, politicians, or advertisers - fail miserably. Drawing on recent findings from political science and other fields ranging from history to anthropology, Mercier shows that the narrative of widespread gullibility, in which a credulous public is easily misled by demagogues and charlatans, is simply wrong.

Why is mass persuasion so difficult? Mercier uses the latest findings from experimental psychology to show how each of us is endowed with sophisticated cognitive mechanisms of open vigilance. Computing a variety of cues, these mechanisms enable us to be on guard against harmful beliefs, while being open enough to change our minds when presented with the right evidence. Even failures - when we accept false confessions, spread wild rumors, or fall for quack medicine - are better explained as bugs in otherwise well-functioning cognitive mechanisms than as symptoms of general gullibility.

Not Born Yesterday shows how we filter the flow of information that surrounds us, argues that we do it well, and explains how we can do it better still.

©2020 Hugo Mercier (P)2020 Recorded Books
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Not Born Yesterday

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    36
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Nigeria scam to twitter mobs to ideology explained

high quality reading of a wide ranging, well supported analysis of Homo sapiens congenital skepticism juxtaposed with some of mankind's most seemingly illogical and ridiculous beliefs. Mercier & Sperber's 'Enigma of Reason' is a good companion to this work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Challenged my views

A good book should be eye opening and this one certainly is. It challenged my views on the way we think and why we create rumors, believe in conspiracy theories and share fake news.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

the audio playback does not work!

this is strange. the audio playback does not work for this book!( and only this book)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!