Hey I'm Kyrin and I review books of all genres/styles but with an emphasis on those that have stood the test of time (i.e., not recent releases). Join me as I cover the basic details before diving into the themes, ideas and learnings we can take away from the fascinating realm of literature. Weekly live episode on Thurs 10am AEST (Wed/Thurs Midnight UTC+0) plus bonus episodes from my cohost Juan every now and then.
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episode 101: Not Born Yesterday (Hugo Mercier) - Book Review
Would you believe that I'm a shape-shifting lizard who thinks that the Earth is flat? 'Not Born Yesterday' by Hugo Mercier is an argument against the perceived notion that humans are gullible. In the age of fake news, false rumours and conspiracies it is easy to think that we are too credulous. However, Mercier argues that we have developed open vigilance mechanisms which allow us to sort out the incoming communication from other people to let us know who to trust and what to believe.
I summarised the book as follows. "It's definitely an 'intellectual' book that requires a lot of prior knowledge of evolutionary science, game theory and behavioural economics. It brought up some original ideas but there may be some dubious studies that were used to support his thesis. The general argument makes sense to me and there are a couple of useful takeaways but it won't revolutionise my thinking."
As always, I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!
Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro & Synopsis
(2:54) - Open Vigilance Mechanisms: Accepting the beneficial, rejecting the harmful
(9:07) - Trust & Belief: Who to trust & what to believe?
(13:54) - Personal Observations/Takeaways
(16:59) - Summary
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