Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things.
By Dan Ariely.
Sept. 2023. 320p. Harper, $32 (9780063280427). 300.

Social scientist Ariely (Irrationally Yours, 2015; Dollars and Sense, 2017) has spent years focusing on the way we often embrace ideas that are irrational, and here he turns his at- tention to misinformation specifically. Based in part on the author’s own experiences as the target of deliberate disinformation—with seemingly rational people believing lies about him—the book is an insightful examination of the underlying psychological factors that bolster misinformation’s appeal. It covers our natural tendency to accept ideas that reinforce our own beliefs (and to dismiss those that contradict them), and the way the spread of misinformation is reshaping our society. Ariely is a persuasive writer, offering plenty of anec- dotal examples to bolster his arguments and show how misinformation alters people’s lives. It’s a rigorous but also deeply compassionate book: Ariely’s goal isn’t to condemn people who fall for misinformation, but to show the reader how easy it is to believe the irrational. The book asks us to foreground empathy to reexamine some of our own beliefs. For some readers, the results could be eye-opening. —David Pitt