The Uses of Delusion

"Vyse is an articulate and engaging writer, and his argument is illustrated at points by graphic figures and diagrams to assist readers' comprehension of key concepts, such as rational choice theory. * S. Krippner, CHOICE * Many books have lamented human superstition, overconfidence, and self-defeating beliefs, but The Uses of Delusion offers a counterpoint: the benefits of these ""irrational"" mechanisms in our lives. The result is a fuller picture of how humans think—and why, too often, we don't. * Carol Tavris, social psychologist and coauthor of Mistakes Were Made (but not by ME) * With his usual crisp and delightful prose, Vyse explores the tension most of us feel between our rational and irrational impulses. Why the latter can have so much sway has never been more important to understand given the growing chorus of voices turning away from the enlightenment. Vyse makes it easier to fathom parts of this disturbing trend. * Thomas Gilovich, Cornell University, author of How We Know What Isn't So and The Wisest One in the Room * Those of us who have devoted our careers to promoting science, reason, and rationality rarely consider the times and circumstances when it is rational to be irrational, reasonable to be unreasonable, and even use science to determine when it is appropriate to be unscientific in our lives. In The Uses of Delusion our nation's foremost expert on superstition and magical thinking turns his rational eye to revealing the context of this apparently paradoxical behavior. I actually felt a sense of relief in understanding why I need not berate myself for the many times I have caught myself being unreasonable, irrational, and unscientific in my life, because as Stuart Vyse shows in this important contribution to the science of rationality, there are times when it pays to be irrational. * Michael Shermer, Publisher, skeptic magazine, Presidential Fellow, Chapman University, author of Why People Believe Weird Things, The Believing Brain, The Moral Arc, and other books *"