The Perils of Perception with Bobby Duffy

One in ten French people still believe the earth may be flat; One quarter of Australians think that cavemen and dinosaurs existed at the same time; One in nine Brits think the 9/11 attacks were a US government conspiracy; 15 per cent of Americans believe that the media or government adds secret mind-controlling signals to television transmissions. Our main interest is not niche stupidity or minority belief in conspiracies, but much more general and widespread misperceptions about individual, social and political realities. Do you eat too much sugar? Is violence in the world increasing or decreasing? What proportion of your country are Muslim? What does it cost to raise a child? How much do we need to save for retirement? How much tax do the rich pay? When we estimate the answers to these fundamental questions that directly affect our lives, we tend to be vastly wrong, irrespective of how educated we are. Today’s book - informed by over ten exclusive major polling studies by IPSOS across 40 countries - asks why in the age of the internet, where information should be more accessible than ever, we remain so poorly informed. It is a pleasure to welcome the author of The Perils of Perception: Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything, Bobby Duffy, welcome to the show.