Friday, December 26, 2008

Even a Professional Skeptic Proved Gullible

Stephen Greenspan has just written a new book, Annals of Gullibility: Why We are Duped and How to Avoid it, in which he analyzes

the topic of financial scams, along with a great number of other forms of human gullibility, including war (the Trojan Horse), politics (WMDs in Iraq), relationships (sexual seduction), pathological science (cold fusion), religion (Christian Science), human services (Facilitated Communication), medical fads (homeopathy), etc.


He knows what he's talking about:

In Annals of Gullibility I propose a multi-dimensional theory that would explain why so many people behave in a manner which exposes them to severe and predictable risks. This includes myself — I lost a good chunk of my retirement savings to Mr. Madoff, so I know of what I write on the most personal level.

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