The Certainty Illusion
What You Don't Know and Why It Matters
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The Certainty Illusion
Narrated by:
Timothy Caulfield, Tyrone Savage
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Timothy Caulfield
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Tyrone Savage
About this listen
Knowing the truth, what’s real from what’s fake, should be easy. In today’s world, that’s far from the case. In The Certainty Illusion, Timothy Caulfield lifts the curtain on the forces contributing to our information chaos and unpacks why it’s so difficult—sometimes even for experts—to escape the fake.
Whether it’s science, our own desire to be good and do the right thing, or the stories and opinions of others, there’s more to sussing out the truth than simply tracking down what feels like an authoritative source. Caulfield argues that these major forces—science, goodness, and opinion—drive beliefs and behaviour, but the ways that they can be corrupted, or worse, used to nefarious ends by bad actors, are endless.
While it may feel, at times, as though we are circling the drain of truth, especially as new technologies make it even easier to spread dangerous fictions, Caulfield pulls us out of the vortex and keeps us afloat, helping us recognize and combat the forces that threaten to pull us under.
Caufield goes against all commercialized wellness without clearly distinguishing the varying levels of health harm risk.
He also falls for the "eat real food" fallacy (Caufield's advice), perpetuating a false dichotomy between "real" and "fake" food, an illusion often peddled by pro-carnivore advocates. So, he himself isn't immune to misinformation...
Overall, an entertaining short read that could benefit from showcasing emerging peer-reviewed nutrition misinformation research, rather than relying solely on his opinion.
Would help to apply intellectual humility himself in several instances and mitigate illusions of grandiose.
I do recommend the book, but not the approach of going against the entire wellness industry. There are ethical and impact-based organizations doing great work, and they deserve recognition rather than being lumped into the blanket assumption that all wellness is bad.
Harmful, risky wellness practices are.
Overgeneralized, against all commercial interests
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