Manipulation, Solved
Mark Manson and co-host Drew Barney argue that everyone manipulates and is manipulated, then cover where the ethical line falls, the persuasion tactics marketers use, and how to protect yourself from the worst kinds.
The gist
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Manson says lie detection is roughly a coin flip, with police, judges and therapists no better than college students, so body language reading mostly fails.
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Manson uses Kant's formula of humanity, never treating people merely as a means, plus a publicity test: would they be upset if they found out?
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Manson recommends Robert Cialdini's Influence and walks through its six principles, from reciprocity and social proof to scarcity, which he says can double sales.
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Drawing on William McGuire's research, the hosts say exposing yourself to weakened counterarguments protects beliefs better than only reinforcing them.
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Manson suggests slowing down, journaling your thinking, keeping friends who disagree with you, and asking how often a situation like this is a scam.
Mark Manson recommends it
"Now one of these categorical imperatives that he came up with that I personally find to be incredibly profound... It's this incredible rubric that you can run almost every undesirable behavior you can imagine through the formula of humanity, and it will come out the same pattern."
▶ Play at 1:13:13
Mark Manson recommends it
"If I was to recommend a single book for people to read around this, it would be Robert Cialdini's Influence. Anybody who goes into any sorts of sales job, marketing job, advertising job, it is one of the first books that you have to read."
▶ Play at 2:38:286 creators recommend it, including Jake Falcon, Liam Ottley, and Max Levchin.
See all on the Influence page
Mark Manson recommends it
"This is another benefit of journaling: it actually takes a long time to write your thoughts out, and the practice of writing your thoughts out actually forces you to formulate a lot of what you're feeling into a rational thought. So yeah, if you're really worked up about somet..."
▶ Play at 3:49:2412 creators recommend it, including Ryan Holiday, Andrew Huberman, and Kier Gaines.
See all on the Journaling page
Mark Manson uses it
"I've got another one here that I wrote down as use base rates, not vibes, which I actually really like. I use this a lot in my daily life. I think what's more useful to do in situations is to remove yourself from the situation and just ask yourself, what is the base rate of th..."
▶ Play at 3:53:56What they recommend · 4 picks
"If I was to recommend a single book for people to read around this, it would be Robert Cialdini's Influence. Anybody who goes into any sorts of sales job, marketing job, adverti..."
"This is another benefit of journaling: it actually takes a long time to write your thoughts out, and the practice of writing your thoughts out actually forces you to formulate a..."
"I've got another one here that I wrote down as use base rates, not vibes, which I actually really like. I use this a lot in my daily life. I think what's more useful to do in si..."
Mark, Andrew, Riley and Rich agree on 11 things
See what they all use, in their own words. Paid ads are left out.
See what they all swear by Or pick your own peopleAlso mentioned
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