The Naked Negotiator

Do you remember where you were when JFK was assassinated?

Chances are, your memory will mislead you. However that won’t stop you defending your belief regardless of contrary evidence.

How do we know this?

Psychologist Ulric Neisser asked 106 students to write down exactly where they were the day after 1986 challenger shuttle explosion. When he interviewed them just two and a half year later 25% gave remarkably different accounts.

In his new book, On Being Certain (St Martins, 2008), Neuro Scientist Robert Burton explains “The feeling of knowing” - being certain of a fact despite having no (or even contrary) evidence.

One of the startling implications of Burton’s arguments is that we ultimately cannot trust ourselves or others when we claim something is true.

Ronald Reagan had it right when it came to trusting the Russians. For Reagan it wasn’t about trust, it was about verification.

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