The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time

by Maria Konnikova

“Religion,” Voltaire is said to have remarked, “began when the first scoundrel met the first fool.”

Human beings don’t like to exist in a state of uncertainty or ambiguity. When something doesn’t make sense, we want to supply the missing link.

We are, after all, the best deceivers of our own minds.