Joseph Hallinan

Years ago, I came up with a concept I called The Uncertainty Certainty. Uncertainty gives people pause, and the resolution of the uncertainty permits them to make precisely the wrong decision, time after time. It's uncanny. Kidding Ourselves is a compendium of similar human folly. In order to maintain some sort of control, some sort of dignity, some sort of pride, we constantly hold positions in clear contradiction to reality. Even when we read the studies or the stories, when we know the show more stats and the odds, we continue to
hold opinions that are just plain wrong, and mostly about ourselves. Hallinan calls it a built-in placebo effect.

The book is a collection of stories and studies. We have examined the phenomenon up and down, forwards and backwards, in seemingly hundreds of ways. Incredible amounts of money have been expended to tell us this: we deceive ourselves constantly. It's innate and unstoppable. Rats and dogs show the same tendencies. Have a nice day fooling yourself.

We spend billions every year on vitamins and supplements, despite the almost weekly reporting of studies that show some vitamin totally failed to have any effect whatsoever in a two year study of 5000 people. Or that there has never been a study that showed any vitamin actually achieved preventing colds or cancer, extending lives, improving memory or easing joint movement.

It's even worse in politics. In Ohio before the last election, 15% of Republicans claimed to believe Mitt Romney had Osama Bin Laden killed. Nationwide, over half of Americans believe JFK was killed in a conspiracy. Hallinan says in politics, the most informed are the most biased, spouting wrong statistics and incorrect facts that favor their own stance. So while you might think they lie like rugs, the Michele Bachmanns of the world actually believe what they say. Facts be damned.

Whole towns have been laid low by non existent diseases. Eastern Ukraine believes the country's upheaval is solely a fabrication of western journalists. Mesmer changed thousands of lives with magnets (until Benjamin Franklin proved him silly). It is endless.

Fortunately, the book is not. At only 155 pages of content, it's a compact, entertaining and enlightening sampling of the disaster. Or maybe it's not a disaster. Maybe self deception is what keeps the wheels turning. One question it does not deal with: is knowing empowering? That will have to be another book. show less

Ever wonder why it’s impossible to convince your wingnut uncle or your socialist sister-in-law or the idiots from high school that you’ve friended on Facebook, that they’re wrong? You know they’re misinformed partisans and, if they would just listen to the sweet music of reason, pouring from your lips, they would all be so much happier. But they don’t. In fact, as Joseph T. Hallinan demonstrates in his informative, amusing and, to those of us who know we’re right, frustrating show more book, Kidding Ourselves: The Hidden Power of Self Deception, the more evidence we have, the more logical our argument, the harder those who disagree will dig in and hold to their beliefs.

And it’s not just others who delude themselves. We all do, at some time or another. In fact, according to Hallinan, that self-delusion can be an advantage, even when it leads us to overestimate our abilities or under estimate our effect on others. Hallinan offers anecdotes then supports his ideas with evidence from studies from researchers around the globe, some, years in the making.

Kidding Ourselves is an interesting look at why we do what we do (and others don’t). Can this book help you use your delusions to improve your life? I think so. But, then, I may just be deluding myself…. show less

In "Kidding Ourselves" Joe Hallinan presents an interesting survey on the role self deception plays in several cognitive environments. The role, the want, or maybe the need, for self deception is really highlighted in a way that other books have not addressed. The assumptions we make about the world and how this feeds into how we interact with everything else is a very fertile subject. Hallinan is pressing into an interesting area with his book, and I like the general concept. There is so show more much about our every day life that is dependent on each and every one of us fooling ourselves that I greatly appreciated reading various concrete examples where self-deception played a critical role.

Many examples have at their center the role expectation plays in perception. Whether it is the radiologist missing the giant gorilla in the x-ray, the phony knee surgery, or peoples opinions about marginal tax rates. To be sure there an assortment of heuristics biases, and social norms working, or not working, in many of the scenarios presented. But the unifying way these distortions seem to be failing is because of a mis-calibration of expectation.

What is most interesting is where this lag in expectation works out in our favor. And these are consistently the most interesting in my reading. The soldiers who are shot and didn't need anesthetic because they saw the event as saving their life. Or how, above a certain threshold, attitude about life is a strongly correlated with good health as the wealthiest individuals with, presumably, access to the highest standard of care.

What would have been interesting is some additional synthesis about what is different about the situations where deception was detrimental and where it was helpful. Asking whether the same systems are involved and figuring out if we could figure out in advance whether any deception going on might be helpful or not. All in an enjoyable read with a variety of interesting examples covering both helpful and negative instances of self-deception. But more synthesis of why these particular cases cause self-deception would have been appreciated. show less

Kidding Ourselves recaps studies about the delusions we have about ourselves and how they can be a positive thing – and quite normal. I was reminded of my father’s doctor, who told him he had a 50-50 chance of beating cancer when the chances were much slimmer. Later the doctor told him, “I knew you’d give up if I told you your true odds.” But Dad didn’t give up and survived the cancer. (The author does not say, however, that self-delusion is always a winning life strategy.)

I show more found the chapter “Drunk with Power” enlightening. Our public library is currently struggling with two trustees who believe they have power and are acting in ways that are quite destructive. Yet, they seem oblivious to the citizenry’s concerns (and disdain) and are convinced their actions are good for all concerned and even appreciated.

“Power tends to diminish perception and perspective, slowly snuffing out the ability of those who have it to detect what others around them are thinking and feeling,” writes the author. Knowing that doesn’t solve the problem of the power-grabbing trustees, but it certainly helps explain the behavior.

Kidding Ourselves is a very quick read, full of engaging stories and interesting ways of looking at ourselves and other people. Each chapter gives readers food for thought, ways of explaining why people act the way they do, which I always find interesting. Anyone expecting a heavy discussion of brain science and/or psychology will be disappointed.

I found the “Notes” section less than satisfying … I prefer back notes to notes in paragraph form. Bibliography and index are also included.

Review based on Early Reviewer, publisher-provided copy of the book. show less