True Enough: Living In a Post-Fact Society by Farhad Manjoo
True Enough is a book that explores how Americans have begun to organize themselves into echo chambers that harbor diametrically different facts from those of the larger culture.
The book explains how our preconceptions and opinions shape the way we experience reality, and how media producers manipulate us by using our notions to their advantage. The author shows how easily PR firms, false experts, news agencies, and conspiracy theorists can use existing media outlets to manipulate us. He also shows how consumers are biased against certain pieces of news and how their preexisting beliefs deeply affect the way they process new information.
The book covers leading controversies of national politics, foreign affairs, science, and business. It warns readers to beware of all those Dr. Foxes out there and to doubt everybody but also explains that the world is too democratic for truth.
Useful takeaways from the book include understanding how media producers manipulate us, being aware of our own biases, and learning to doubt everything. The book also highlights the importance of seeking out diverse perspectives and being open to changing our minds when presented with new information.
What I Liked
Oh wow – this book was right on. I read this book back in 2008. It’s crazy to be finishing the review I started being able to look back at the last 15 years. He knew what was coming and put it into a solid book. It’s still worth reading. Even though – the entire book is really a fleshed out version of Stephen Colbert’s first segment on Truthiness.
What I Did Not Like
Nothing – brilliant book.
