People are a little like bees and society like a beehive: how our intelligence resides not in individual brains but in the collective mind.

We all know less than we think we do, including how much we know about how much we know. There's no cure for this condition, but there is a treatment: this fascinating book. The Knowledge Illusion is filled with insights on how we should deal with our individual ignorance and collective wisdom -- Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and The Stuff of Thought "Cognitive science attempts to understand the workings of the individual mind. In this brilliant book, Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach show us that what cognitive science has learned is how much the individual mind depends on the minds of others. No matter how smart we are, as individuals we know (almost) nothing. Reading this book will inspire you to cultivate your own expertise, but even more, it will inspire you to seek out and appreciate the expertise of others. This book is a blueprint for an enlightened society." Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice, Practical Wisdom, and Why We Work. "We radically overestimate how much we know. In this fascinating book, Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach examine the origin and consequences of this knowledge illusion, exploring both the extent of our ignorance and the clever ways in which we overcome it. This is an exceptionally clear and well-reasoned book, and it has some important and radical things to say about everything from the allure of stories to how iPhones make us smarter to the pros and cons of democracy. This is psychology at its best." Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology at Yale University, and author of Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion

Steven Sloman is a Professor of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences at Brown University where he has worked since 1992. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Cognition. Phil Fernbach is a cognitive scientist and professor of marketing at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has written for and had his work profiled in numerous publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and BBC World News.