{"product_id":"9780063138896_mental-immunity-infectious-ideas-mind-parasites-and-the-search-for-a-better-way-to-think","title":"Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think","description":"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy do people reject science and believe online conspiracy theories How are people radicalized online and go on to commit acts of violence Why is our society so politically polarized\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAstonishingly irrational ideas are spreading. Covid denial persists in the face of overwhelming evidence. Anti-vaxxers compromise public health. Conspiracy thinking hijacks minds and incites mob violence. Toxic partisanship is cleaving nations, and climate denial has pushed our planet to the brink. Meanwhile, American \u003cem\u003eNazis\u003c\/em\u003e march openly in the streets, and \u003cem\u003eFlat Earth\u003c\/em\u003e theory is back. \u003cem\u003eWhat the heck is going on\u003c\/em\u003e Why is all this happening, and why now More important, what can we do about it \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eMental Immunity\u003c\/em\u003e, Andy Norman shows that these phenomena share a root cause. We live in a time when the so-called “right to your opinion” is thought to trump our responsibilities. The resulting ethos effectively compromises mental immune systems, allowing “mind parasites” to overrun them. Conspiracy theories, evidence-defying ideologies, garden-variety bad ideas: these are all species of mind parasite, and each of them employs clever strategies to circumvent mental immune systems. In fact, some of them compromise \u003cem\u003ecultural\u003c\/em\u003e immune systems – the things societies do to prevent bad ideas from spreading. Norman shows why all of this is more than mere analogy: minds and cultures \u003cem\u003ereally do\u003c\/em\u003e have immune systems, and they \u003cem\u003ereally can\u003c\/em\u003e break down. Fortunately, they can also be built up: strengthened against ideological corruption. He calls for a rigorous science of mental immune health – what he calls “cognitive immunology” – and explains how it could revolutionize our capacity for critical thinking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHailed as “a feast for thought,” \u003cem\u003eMental Immunity\u003c\/em\u003e melds cutting-edge work in science and philosophy into an “astonishingly enlightening and productive” solution to the signature problem of our age. A practical guide to spotting and removing bad ideas, a stirring call to transcend our petty tribalisms, and a serious bid to bring humanity to its senses.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Andrew Norman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46897378689173,"sku":"9780063138896","price":34.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780063138896_122396cc-6598-4279-b1c2-ff646d196f6e.jpg?v=1776888472","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780063138896_mental-immunity-infectious-ideas-mind-parasites-and-the-search-for-a-better-way-to-think","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}