New Books in Psychology Rebecca Lemov, "The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion" (Norton, 2025)
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Jul 11, 2025 
Rebecca Lemov, a Harvard history of science professor and author, dives deep into the unsettling world of brainwashing and mind control. She reveals how we’re all vulnerable to manipulation, particularly through social media and digital addiction. Lemov traces brainwashing's history, discussing everything from POWs in North Korea to today's data-driven tactics that prey on trauma. She distinguishes between genuine persuasion and more sinister forms of emotional engineering, urging us to recognize the hidden dynamics at play in our everyday lives.
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Personal Brainwashing Example
- Rebecca Lemov recalled a moment when she vehemently expressed a dislike for small dogs without truly holding that opinion.
- She realized the idea was absorbed and repeated to align with an identity she wanted to project.
Brainwashing Erases Itself
- Brainwashing hides in plain sight because we find it uncomfortable to recognize in ourselves.
- We dismiss it as something that happens to others, missing its common, everyday occurrences.
Ungrounding and Brainwashing
- Lemov introduced "ungrounding," a state of disorientation caused by successive traumatic shocks.
- This experience primes individuals, like POWs, to become susceptible to brainwashing or re-education.
