Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
Surviving Lies, Rumors, and Digital Hate: Dan Ariely’s Guide to Thriving Online | E57
Thu, 28 Nov 2024
Dan Ariely didn’t just accept the hand life dealt him. He turned it into something powerful. After a traumatic burn accident that scarred 70% of his body, he struggled to find his place in the world. This journey led him to study human psychology and behavior, focusing on how people cope with pain and trauma. Later, when false rumors spread about him on social media, Dan chose to understand and empathize with the “misbelievers.” In this episode, Dan joins Ilana to share his journey from personal trauma to professional triumph, exploring how lies, rumors, and "misbelief" take root and affect lives, and what he’s learned by going through it all firsthand. Dan Ariely is a three-time New York Times bestselling author and Professor of Psychology & Behavioral Economics at Duke University. His personal experience as a burn survivor has influenced his approach to understanding human behavior. His latest book, Misbelief, explores how false beliefs form and how to challenge them. In this episode, Ilana and Dan will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (00:28) The Story Behind the Iconic Half Beard (04:46) Turning Personal Pain into Professional Purpose (09:07) From Burn Victim to Social Scientist (14:49) Confronting Death Threats and Conspiracy Theorists (17:54) How Stress Fuels Misbelief (25:05) How Online Hate Turns to Moral Outrage (31:50) Navigating Trust, Risk, and Failure in Leadership (37:51) How Technology Is Making Us Worse (41:07) Dan’s 45-Minute Work Ritual for Better Productivity (43:43) Life Lessons on Finding Your True Strengths Dan Ariely is a three-time New York Times bestselling author and Professor of Psychology & Behavioral Economics at Duke University. Known for his research on irrational behavior and decision-making, he’s advised companies like Google, Apple, and governments worldwide. His books Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty, have been translated into 30+ languages, and his work inspired NBC’s The Irrational. As a burn survivor, Dan’s personal experience has influenced his approach to understanding human behavior. His latest book, Misbelief, explores how false beliefs form and how to challenge them. Connect with Dan: Dan’s Website: https://danariely.com Dan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danariely Resources Mentioned: Dan’s Book, Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things: https://www.amazon.com/Misbelief-Rational-People-Believe-Irrational/dp/0063280426 Dan’s Book, The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone--Especially Ourselves: https://www.amazon.com/Honest-Truth-About-Dishonesty-Everyone-Especially/dp/0062183613 NBC Show: The Irrational: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16288838/ Leap Academy: Ready to make the LEAP in your career? There is a NEW way for professionals to Advance Their Careers & Make 5-6 figures of EXTRA INCOME in Record Time. Check out our free training today at leapacademy.com/training
What is the story behind Dan Ariely's half beard?
Morphine was helpful, but certainly not eliminating all the pain. Excruciating. And especially when the flesh is bleeding, bandages adhere. Anyway, I was very much occupied with how do we make this process not as bad? And it has to be done. It's not an avoidable process, but can it be done in a better way? That was the thing that troubled me.
And these kind of questions have led the rest of my career. I'm a social scientist, but really I'm concerned with problems that I think social science can help improve. My motivation is to say, let's analyze things that I think people are not doing so well right now, and let's think if we can do them better. Let's study them, understand them, and see if we can improve how things are done.
So it started with this experience with bandages. where I started just arguing with the nurses and doctors. And later on, I did some experiments. I found out that they were indeed wrong. I started a campaign to change how things were done in hospital, had some success, and then went from there to continue with this path.
First of all, it makes sense because the level of questions dictate the level of problems and focus and wisdom that you're going to start gaining.
Yeah. By the way, I think that personal passion for me is crucial. So a few years ago, I hired a guy in my research lab to work on health related problems. And he came first day in the lab and we talk about what he's going to do and the project and so on. And then I asked him about him, his life, his childhood, his hobbies, where he is.
And it turns out that his parents had to declare bankruptcy when he was in high school. And his whole growing up experience came from a family that was doing well. So a family in bankruptcy to try and fight with all the bureaucracy and the complexity that comes with it. And we talked a lot about this. And when we finished, I said to him, this looks like you're really passionate about
understanding what's happening during bankruptcy, how you can prevent it, how you can help people deal better with it. He said, yes. And I said, so why did you want to study healthcare? He said, this is what you offered. I said, okay, I don't think you should study healthcare. I think you should study these kind of problems because if that's what motivates you, that's what you should be doing.
So we switched him. We found a new job for him. We started a new project. But I think at the end, every project we do, It's going to take longer, going to be more complex, going to have ups and downs, plus downs. And to sustain the motivation, we need something that we're interested in, in general, that we're truly excited about.
And I think we need to spend time figuring those things out and finding those projects.
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