Author: Brian Clegg
The 2024 book “Brainjacking: The Science of Influence and Manipulation” by Brian Clegg delves into the ways science and technology influence human behavior and decision-making.
I read this fascinating 288-page book cover-to-cover in one go. The writing style is fluid and not too cumbersome.
“‘The Matrix’ film portrayed a visceral, fictional kind of brainjacking, which is the term I’m using to indicate mechanisms that enable our brains to be changed by others, often without conscious awareness that this is happening,” Clegg writes, explaining his choice in title.
“This is entirely different from brainwashing,” he continues. “Brainjacking is a more subtle, far more widespread, and more interesting activity.”
The book examines how techniques such as storytelling, advertising and political strategies are used to inform, influence, and manipulate people. The book connects hot topics like artificial intelligence, big data, and subliminal messaging to reveal both the obvious and subtle forms of manipulation in modern life.
Clegg, a writer known for making complex scientific ideas accessible to general audiences, is the perfect author for this topic. Two of the British author’s previously published books were longlisted for the Royal Society Prize for Science Books.
With a background in physics, Clegg explores the intersections of science, technology and human behavior.
At the end of “Brainjacking,” he writes: “If there is one takeaway, I would like to stress that it is to be more aware of ‘brainjacking’ as it happens all around — both to you and by you. Embrace it where it's good; reject it where it is negative. But most of all, enjoy this particularly human activity.”
