BIG LIES: from Socrates to Social Media

Big lies are told by governments, politicians and corporations to avoid responsibility, cast blame on the innocent, win elections, disguise intent, create chaos and gain power and wealth.Big lies are as old as civilisation. They corrupt public understanding and discourse, turn science upside down and reinvent history.They prevent humanity from addressing critical challenges.They perpetuate injustices. They destabilise the world. The modern age has provided ever-more-effective ways of spreading lies but it has also given us the scientific method, which is the most effective tool for finding what is true.In the book’s final chapter, Kurlansky reveals ways to deconstruct an allegation.A scientific theory has to be testable and so does an allegation. BIG LIES soars across history: alighting on the “noble lies” of Socrates and Plato; Nero blaming Christians for the burning of Rome; the great injustices of the Middle Ages; the big lies of Stalin and Hitler and their terrible consequences; th