Customer Reviews

On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The emotionally charged polarized reviews on Amazon for this book are quite entertaining and surprising, and corroborate his section on "The Importance of Prior Conviction" (p 16-21). This book is definitely worth an hour of your time and it shouldn't require much more than that. I'd encourage anyone to read the first half of the book (just over 40 pages) and skip or skim read the rest. Whether that is worth $10 is debatable.

Pros:
* The information in this book can be covered by the reader in 1-2 hours
* Clearly and succinctly covers common problems of group decision making
1. Information Cascades (p 21-8)
2. Conformity Cascades (p 28-32)
3. Group Polarization (p 32-42)

Cons:
* This book is only 88 pages; the second half is largely forgettable
* His coverage of Biases (p 42-57) is disappointing
* His tentatively proposed solutions are insightful, but still very much a work in progress

I think Nudge is a better book - if for nothing else because you also get Thaler's input - but similarly Nudge is largely worthy of skim reading after the first half (actually after 100 pages). I think Sunstein is a very bright guy with tremendous insight. I just wish that instead of putting out so many different books he would put out fewer books that are more comprehensive.

Weighing in at only 88 pages, this book is an excellent distillation of group decision making, from assimilation bias(a person who holds a strong belief will, upon hearing contrary facts, waver for a moment ,and then believe even more strongly in their original belief) to how we are influenced in our decision making by the decisions of others and how ,in a group that agrees with us, we betray our personal beliefs and gravitate towards more strident and polarized views. A worthwhile if pricey book.

It's difficult to face it, but here's the truth: Most of us prefer to have our ideas confirmed over having them challenged. That's the crux of Sunstein's case against the Internet. He's not the first to point this out, but he illustrates it very well. And points out a legitimate danger posed by new communications technologies.

For me, this was a useful book because I haven't quite been able to figure out for myself what has gone so wrong with our national discourse these days. I was inclined, frankly, to blame it on malevolent forces--especially forces I disagree with. But Sunstein shows that the stakes are much higher than that. It isn't just that some people are deluded and some people lie; it's that we find ourselves in a situation in which all of us are permitted to gravitate to messages that reinforce our assumptions. To some degree, we could always do that. But it's become very easy to do these days. A difference in degree has become a difference in kind.

It doesn't help matters, either, that the least reasonable among us are the most drawn to our new ways of communicating. If you doubt that, read the comments that newspapers post after many news stories. So many of the posts are contemptuous remarks aimed more at cutting off dialogue than genuine contributions to a conversation.

That problem is magnified in ways that Sunstein traces very well in this book. I'm still horrified by liars and rumor mongers. But it helps (a little) to know what has given them such influence nowadays.

.. in this list illustrate Sunstein's point very clearly. Sunstein hits on the truth and they can't handle it.

My review spreads a rumor! The rumor is that this book is poorly written, the thesis is horribly argued (despite having some validity), and the author is self-absorbed. However, the cover is pretty cool. If you buy books based on covers, you should buy On Rumors.
The crux of this book is that Web 2.0 is great for business but awful for politics and government. For the author, that is because people only read what they are interested in; their political beliefs. Applied to the world of commerce, what pisses of Sunstein is that when a musician is looking at guitar reviews online, he will never consider purchasing a trombone because he only looks at guitar websites! What a shame, the man could have been an excellent trombone player!
No, seriously, that is his argument.

Nice try, but Sunstein operates so much within the realm of logic and fact that he's incapable of understanding the idiocy and delusions of those who launch and firmly believe in the wildest of rumours.

"The size of the lie is a definite factor in causing it to be believed, for the vast masses of a nation are in the depths of their hearts more easily deceived than they are consciously and intentionally bad. The primitive simplicity of their minds renders them a more easy prey to the big lie than a small one, for they themselves often tell little lies but would be ashamed to tell big ones."

So wrote an unknown inmate of Landsberg Prison in 1923, subsequently included in a book called 'Mein Kampf' by Adolf Hitler. Many of the ideas and language are from Rudolph Hess, Hermann Rauschning and others. Thus, 'Mein Kampf' is itself a lie, it is largely the "struggle" of many others.

In recent times, consider "weapons of mass destruction." This rumour was "the big lie" spread by Saddam Hussein who did use poison gas to quell a Kurdish revolt. George Bush believed him and went to war on that basis; those who still believe such weapons exist simply cannot accept the fact that Bush was duped by Hussein's lies.

Rumours confirm what we want to believe. It's like telling a child whose puppy has just died that, "He went to a better place, he'll be happy there." It's a lie, but it comforts the child and it's precisely what the child wants to believe. Rumours and lies are emotional issues, not fact.

Sunstein misses the point, and stumbles around in the realm of logic, hope, reason and fact. He needs to emotionalize the question, not rationalize it. Rumours live to express unrealistic hopes and illogical fears. The gut response is, "If it seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true."

Keep in mind the old saying of good journalists about the need to check facts, "If your Mother tells you she loves you, check it out." Remember the old saying of many Americans, "Sez who?" Let's revive the adage, "That and $5 will buy you a Starbux coffee." Does anyone remember the typical Missouri response, "Show me."

Americans have long been skeptical. The Internet is teaching them to be even more skeptical, thanks to sites such as: [...] That and a reading of 'The True Believer' by Eric Hoffer will better explain the origin and reason of rumours.

Much as I tried, I couldn't get into this load of crap. Gave it one star because there is no lesser rating available to me. After about 20 pages, I gave up looking for any human emotion. Certain that it'll be bought up by rich liberals and given as "Winter Holiday" gifts. Want to buy my copy? Like new? Okay, I'll discard it, no, better, re-cycle it.

At 88 pages, it's more a monograph than a book. Much of it is written in a syntax best suitable to grades 5-6. The agenda is to threaten conservative websites with legal action if they distribute "rumors" about the Regultory Czar's boss. For fast readers, it's a wasted hour.