Let's face it: people lie. We lie to each other and to ourselves. Is there a deeper reason why we do it? In this episode, five TED speakers deconstruct the hard truths of deception.
Participants:
Behavioral economist Dan Ariely explains the hidden reasons we think it's okay to cheat or steal. He says we're predictably irrational -- and can be influenced in ways we don't even realize We're surrounded by deception: in politics and pop culture, in the workplace and on social media.
Pamela Meyer points out manners and cues that can help us suss out a lie. Who hasn't sent a text message saying ‘I'm on my way’ when it wasn't true?
But psychologist Jeff Hancock. says some technology might actually force us to be more honest.
Skeptic Magazine founder Michael Shermer says the human tendency to believe strange things from alien abductions to dowsing rods boils down to two of the brain's most basic, hard-wired survival skills. The power of the placebo has been consistently proven in medicine.
Magician Eric Mead extends that idea to magic, pulling off a gruesome trick that's so convincing, you'll cringe.
