Plagues of the Mind: The New Epidemic of False Knowledge

Now that we are full with "information" that far from helping to clarify the things, it spreads to confuse them. Now that the anxiety produced by the lack of sense of our lives, it makes us inclined to the gratifying therapy of hugging a new tendency, a book as this helps us as a vaccine against that whole false knowledge that is plentiful.Thousands of people live off by spreading false or not scientifically sustained theories... Read Full Review

Any book which explores "the new epidemic of false knowledge" reminds us that the human race has been afflicted with intellectual pestilence throughout its history. From my own perspective, there are at least three major reasons for false knowledge such as misinformation, half-truths, gratifying superstitions, and pleasant myths as well as outright lies: insufficient and/or incorrect information; man's inability and/or unwillingness... Read Full Review

Having addressed hundreds of Philosophy, History, and Literature classes over the last 20 years, I am often frustrated by the students' typical lack of critical thinking ability. They mostly don't want to think for themselves or test what they're told, they just want to know what they have to memorize for the test. This book not only exposes some of the most pernicious historical myths of our contemporary culture, it also... Read Full Review

Dr. Thorton does an excellent job at examining the prevalance of false knowledge that we are constantly exposed to on a continual basis. He examines the role that both media and education play in reinforcing the falsities of todays world. With the abundance of information that is available at our fingertips it seems that our culture has become complacent and gulliable and believe most of what we hear and see without reservation... Read Full Review

This is a great book. I haven't enjoyed a book as much since Bloom's 'The Closing of the American Mind'.