Perils of Perception – Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything

Why in the age of the internet, where information should be more accessible than ever, we remain so poorly informed?

Do you eat too much sugar? Is violence in the world increasing or decreasing? What proportion of your country are Muslim? What does it cost to raise a child? How much do we need to save for retirement? How much tax do the rich pay?

When we estimate the answers to these fundamental questions that directly affect our lives, we tend to be vastly wrong, irrespective of how educated we are. This landmark book – informed by over ten exclusive major polling studies by IPSOS across 40 countries – asks why in the age of the internet, where information should be more accessible than ever, we remain so poorly informed.

Using the latest research into the media, decision science, heuristics, and emotional reasoning, Bobby Duffy examines why the populations of some countries seem better informed than others, and how we can address our ignorance of key public data and trends. An essential read for anyone who wants to be smarter and better informed, this fascinating book will transform the way you engage with the world.

Bobby Duffy is Managing Director of the Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute and Global Director of Ipsos Social Research Institute. He leads a team of around 200 researchers across the World. He has been previously seconded to the British Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and to the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the LSE. He is Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London.

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