{"product_id":"big-lies-from-socrates-to-social-media-9780884489139","title":"Big Lies: From Socrates to Social Media","description":"Big lies are told by governments, politicians, and corporations to avoid responsibility, cast blame on the innocent, win elections, disguise intent, create chaos, and gain power and wealth. Big lies are as old as civilization. They corrupt public understanding and discourse, turn science upside down, and reinvent history. They prevent humanity from addressing critical challenges. They perpetuate injustices. They destabilize the world. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe modern age has provided ever-more-effective ways of spreading lies, but it has also given us the scientific method, which is the most effective tool for finding what is true. In the book's final chapter, Kurlansky reveals ways to deconstruct an allegation. A scientific theory has to be testable, and so does an allegation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eBIG LIES \u003c\/em\u003esoars across history: alighting on the \"noble lies\" of Socrates and Plato; Nero blaming Christians for the burning of Rome; the great injustices of the Middle Ages; the big lies of Stalin and Hitler and their terrible consequences; the reckless lies of contemporary demagogues, which are amplified through social media; lies against women and Jews are two examples in the long history of \"othering\" the vulnerable for personal gain; up to the equal-opportunity spotlight in America. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Belief is a choice,\" Kurlansky writes, \"and honesty begins in each of us. A lack of caring what is true or false is the undoing of democracy. The alternative to truth is a corrupt state in which the loudest voices and most seductive lies confer power and wealth on grifters and oligarchs. We cannot achieve a healthy planet for all the world's people if we do not keep asking what is true.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-11914203\"\u003eMark Kurlansky\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-380016\"\u003eEric Zelz\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Tilbury House Publishers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/08\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 7.00w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780884489139\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0884489132\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-YAN\"\u003eYoung Adult Nonfiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-YAN058000\"\u003eActivism \u0026amp; Social Justice\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-YAN\"\u003eYoung Adult Nonfiction\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-YAN051250\"\u003eSocial Topics | Values \u0026amp; Virtues\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Tilbury House Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44485600739565,"sku":"9780884489139","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_d1e7511c-4b9d-4c44-9950-c4a6f5e77f76.jpg?v=1700806611","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/big-lies-from-socrates-to-social-media-9780884489139","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}