"The Folly of Fools" (book)

"The Folly of Fools" by Robert Trivers explores how humans and other animals often make irrational decisions by trusting and rewarding deceitful or selfish individuals. The book examines the evolutionary reasons behind behaviors like gullibility and trust, revealing that these traits can sometimes benefit societies by promoting cooperation, even when they enable trickery. Trivers uses scientific research and examples from biology, psychology, and history to show how self-deception and social deception shape our actions and interactions, illustrating that what seems like foolishness is often a complex adaptation rooted in survival and social dynamics.