The Certainty Illusion
with Timothy Caulfield
Hosted by Sarah Everts
In Person Streaming Non-Fict Science
The Certainty Illusion is a brilliant and accessible deep dive into the complexities of our modern misinformation crisis… Whether navigating health advice, social issues, or daily news, this essential read empowers you to think critically and avoid the traps of certainty. It's a must-have for anyone looking to sharpen their understanding in an age of confusion.”
In a world where there is so much conflicting information about how we are supposed to live, what can we really know?
In The Certainty Illusion, Timothy Caulfield, Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta, lifts the curtain on the forces contributing to our information chaos and unpacks why it’s so difficult—sometimes even for experts—to escape the fake.
Whether it’s science, our own desire to be good and do the right thing, or the stories and opinions of others, there’s more to sussing out the truth than simply tracking down what feels like an authoritative source. Caulfield argues that these major forces—science, goodness, and opinion—drive beliefs and behaviour, but the ways that they can be corrupted, or worse, used to nefarious ends by bad actors, are endless.
How do we recognize and combat misinformation?
Books are available from our friends at Perfect Books.
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