"Thoughtful [and] well-supported"

- The New York Times Book Review,

"Sensitively written... will leave readers puzzling over how much we resist, submit to, or even desire to be 'done over' by external influences"

- Science Magazine,

"Rebecca Lemov… brilliantly chronicles chillingly true attempts to program other people’s minds and control their actions."

- The Boston Globe,

Because brainwashing affects both the world and our observation of the world, we often cannot recognise it while it’s happening—unless we know where to look. In The Instability of Truth, Rebecca Lemov exposes the myriad ways our minds can be controlled against our will, exploring the history of brainwashing techniques from those employed against POWs in North Korea to the “soft” brainwashing of social media doomscrolling and behaviour-shaping.

Lemov reveals that anyone can fall victim to mind control, especially in our increasingly data-driven world and identifies invasive forms of emotional engineering that exploit trauma and addiction to create coercion and persuasion in everyday life. Offering lessons learned from mind-control episodes past and present, Lemov equips us for the increasing challenges we face from social media, AI and an unprecedented, global form of surveillance capitalism.

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An acclaimed historian of science uncovers the hidden history of brainwashing—and its troubling implications for today

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781324075264
Publisert
2025-05-13
Utgiver
Vendor
Ww Norton & Co
Vekt
661 gr
Høyde
239 mm
Bredde
163 mm
Dybde
38 mm
Aldersnivå
G, 01
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
464

Forfatter

Biografisk notat

Rebecca Lemov is a historian of science at Harvard University and has been a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute. Her research explores data, technology, and the history of human and behavioral sciences. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.