Expanding upon his viral TEDx Talk psychology professor and social scientist John V.
Petrocelli reveals the critical thinking habits you can develop to recognize and combat
pervasive false information and delusional thinking that has become a common feature of
everyday life. No matter how smart we believe ourselves to be we're all susceptible to
bullshit-and we all engage in it. While we may brush it off as harmless marketing sales speak
or as humorous embellished claims it's actually much more dangerous and insidious. It's how
Bernie Madoff successfully swindled billions of dollars from even the most experienced
financial experts with his Ponzi scheme. It's how the protocols of Mao Zedong's Great Leap
Forward resulted in the deaths of 36 million people from starvation. If we don't question the
information we receive from bullshit artists to prove their thoughts and theories we allow
these falsehoods to take root in our memories and beliefs. This faulty data affects our
decision making capabilities sometimes resulting in regrettable life choices. But with a
little dose of skepticism and a commitment to truth seeking you can build your critical
thinking and scientific reasoning skills to evaluate information separate fact from fiction
and see through bullshitter spin. In The Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit John V.
Petrocelli provides invaluable strategies not only to recognize and protect yourself from
everyday bullshit but to accept your own lack of knowledge about subjects and avoid engaging
in bullshit just for societal conformity. With real world examples from people versed in
bullshit who work in the used car real estate wine and diamond industries Petrocelli
exposes the red-flag warning signs found in the anecdotal stories emotional language and
buzzwords used by bullshitters that persuade our decisions. By using his critical thinking
defensive tactics against those motivated by profit we will also learn how to stop the toxic
misinformation spread and call out bullshit whenever we see it.
