A fascinating examination of delusional thinking and how it might benefit health, relationships, and wellbeing. Although reason and rationality are our friends in almost all contexts, in some cases people are better off putting reason aside. In a number of very important situations, we benefit by not seeing the world as it is, and by not behaving like logic-driven machines. Sometimes we know we aren't making sense, and yet we are compelled to act against reason; in other c...

Do you touch wood for luck, or avoid hotel rooms on floor thirteen? Would you cross the path of a black cat, or step under a ladder? Is breaking a mirror just an expensive waste of glass, or something rather more sinister? Despite the dominance of science in today's world, superstitious beliefs - both traditional and new - remain surprisingly popular. A recent survey of adults in the United States found that 33 percent believed that finding a penny was good luck, and 23 percent believed th...

Over the last three decades, debt, bankruptcy, and home foreclosures have risen to epidemic levels. To make matters worse, the personal savings rate is at its lowest point since the Great Depression. Why, in the richest nation on earth, can't Americans hold on to our money? Winner of the prestigious William James Book Award for Believing in Magic and an authority on irrational behavior, Stuart Vyse offers a unique psychological perspective on the financial behavior of the many Ame...

Over the last three decades, debt, bankruptcy, and home foreclosures have risen to epidemic levels. To make matters worse, the personal savings rate is at its lowest point since the Great Depression. Why, in the richest nation on earth, can't Americans hold on to our money? Winner of the prestigious William James Book Award for Believing in Magic and an authority on irrational behavior, Stuart Vyse offers a unique psychological perspective on the financial behavior of the many Ame...

Over the last four decades, debt, bankruptcy, and home foreclosures have risen to epidemic levels, and the personal savings rate has sunk dangerously low. Why, in the richest nation on earth, can't Americans hold on to their money? First published in 2008, Stuart Vyse's Going Broke described the epidemic of personal debt that existed in the years leading up to the Great Recession, and anticipated the home mortgage crisis that started it. Ten years later, a fully-updated new editio...

Stuart Vyse, Ph.D., is the author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, which received the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. A celebrated psychologist and professor as well as a recognized author, he is the perfect guide for this audio series on the power of superstition.This wide-ranging course reveals the method to our madness in everything from finances to Friday the 13th. An expert on irrational behavi...

Over the last four decades, debt, bankruptcy, and home foreclosures have risen to epidemic levels, and the personal savings rate has sunk dangerously low. Why, in the richest nation on Earth, can’t Americans hold on to their money?First published in 2008, Stuart Vyse’s Going Broke described the epidemic of personal debt that existed in the years leading up to the Great Recession, and anticipated the home mortgage crisis that started it. Ten years later, this fully updated ...

Although reason and rationality are our friends in almost all contexts, in some cases people are better off putting reason aside. In a number of very important situations, we benefit by not seeing the world as it is, and by not behaving like logic-driven machines.The Uses of Delusion is about aspects of human nature that are not altogether rational but, nonetheless, help us achieve our social and personal goals. Psychologist Stuart Vyse presents a lively, accessible explor...

Despite the dominance of science in today's world, superstitious beliefs—both traditional and new—remain surprisingly popular. A recent survey of adults in the United States found that thirty-three percent believed that finding a penny was good luck, and twenty-three percent believed that the number seven was lucky. Where did these superstitions come from, and why do they persist today?Superstition: A Very Short Introduction explores the nature and surprising history of su...

Throughout history scepticism and the urge to question accepted truths has been a powerful force for change and growth. Today, as we are bombarded by adverts, scientific studies praising the latest superfoods, and political rhetoric, a healthy amount of scepticism is widely encouraged. But when is such scepticism legitimate—for example, as a driver of new ideas—and when is it problematic? And what role might adopting a sceptical outlook play in leading an intellectually virtuous life?...

To many in the West, Orthodoxy remains shrouded in mystery, an exotic and foreign religion that survived in the East following the Great Schism of 1054 that split the Christian world into two camps—Catholic and Orthodox. However, as the second largest Christian denomination, Orthodox Christianity is anything but foreign to the nearly 300 million worshipers who practice it. For them, Orthodoxy is a living, breathing reality; a way of being Christian ultimately rooted in the person of Jesus ...

The completely updated, final edition of the global bestseller - one of the most influential books of the 21st century'Few books can be said to have changed the world, but Nudge did. The Final Edition is marvellous: funny, useful, and wise' Daniel KahnemanNudge has transformed the way individuals, companies and governments look at the world - and in the process has become one of the most important books of...