A natural history of cheating from selfish genes to lying politicians Nature is rife with
cheating. Possums play possum feigning death to cheat predators. Crows cry wolf to scare off
rivals. Amphibians and reptiles are inveterate impostors. Even genes and cells cheat. The Liars
of Nature and the Nature of Liars explores the evolution of cheating in the natural world
revealing how dishonesty has given rise to wondrous diversity. Blending cutting-edge science
with a wealth of illuminating examples--from microscopic organisms to highly intelligent birds
and mammals--Lixing Sun shows how cheating in nature relies on two basic rules. One is lying
by which cheaters exploit honest messages in communication signals and use them to serve their
own interests. The other is deceiving by which cheaters exploit the biases and loopholes in
the sensory systems of other creatures. Sun demonstrates that cheating serves as a potent
catalyst in the evolutionary arms race between the cheating and the cheated resulting in a
biological world teeming with complexity and beauty. Brimming with insight and humor The Liars
of Nature and the Nature of Liars also looks at the prevalence of cheating in human society
identifying the kinds of cheating that spur innovation and cultural vitality and laying down a
blueprint for combatting malicious cheating such as fake news and disinformation.
