Book · 1998 · Business & Economics
Private Truths, Public Lies
The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification
- mentions
- 6
- people
- 4
- podcasts
- 6
- episodes
- 6
- recommendations
- 3
There's an amazing book you should read from the '50s a bit hard to get on Amazon, it's called Private Truths, Public Lies.
What they say about it
- Discussing author and title“Private Truths, Public Lies”6
The best things said about it
It's incredibly well-written book it's of course out of print it's by actually a guy I think Tyler you know uh Team Kuran sure uh you know quite well uh who's a economics Economist at Duke Duke so it's spoke about 20 years ago it's called Uh private truths public lies.
Marc Andreessen a16z Podcast · Dec 2018 It's called Private Truths, Public Lies, and it's written by a social science professor named Timur Kuran.
Marc Andreessen Lex Fridman Podcast · Jan 2025 With his book Private Truths, Public Lies, he went on X the other day and he said the preference cascade is unwinding so fast now.
Marc Andreessen Honestly with Bari Weiss · Dec 2024 Where and when it comes up
Most mentions, by podcast
4 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Private Truths, Public Lies by Timur Kuran is a social science book that explores how people conceal their true beliefs due to social pressures, introducing the concepts of preference falsification and preference cascades. On The Ezra Klein Show, Henry Farrell recommended the work to explain political societies and authoritarian regimes through the lens of collective action problems. On The Shawn Ryan Show, Sriram Krishnan recommended the text for understanding why individuals publicly conform to ideas they privately doubt. Marc Andreessen frequently championed the book across multiple appearances, including on the a16z Podcast, the Lex Fridman Podcast, and Honestly with Bari Weiss, describing it as an out-of-print masterpiece that profoundly shaped his understanding of political movements. Andreessen specifically used Kuran's theories to explain how societal tipping points occur when hidden preferences suddenly break out into the open. On The Rubin Report, Dave Rubin brought up Kuran's work to discuss the precise thresholds required for a populace to recognize and react against government deception. Across these varied conversations, the book was consistently highlighted as an essential theoretical framework for diagnosing sudden political shifts, mass compliance, and the rapid unraveling of public conformity in modern societies.
Every mention
Marc Andreessen it's incredibly well-written book it's of course out of print it's by actually a guy I think Tyler you know… 3
“So it's called Private Truths, Public Lies. And it's written by a social science professor named Timur Kuran”
“with his book um uh private truths public lies um he he went on on X the other day and he said the preference Cascade is unwinding so fast now”
“it's incredibly well-written book it's of course out of print it's by actually a guy I think Tyler you know uh Team Kuran sure uh you know quite well uh who's a economics Economist at Duke Duke so it's spoke about 20 years ago it's called Uh private truths public lies”
Henry Farrell It's a book by a guy called Timmer Kuran who's a somewhat conservative libertarian professor in Duke called… 1
“It's a book by a guy called Timmer Kuran who's a somewhat conservative libertarian professor in Duke called private truths public lies.”
Sriram Krishnan there's an amazing book you should read uh from the ' 50s a bit hard to get uh on Amazon it's called uh pri… 1
“there's an amazing book you should read uh from the ' 50s a bit hard to get uh on Amazon it's called uh private truths public lies private truths public lies sounds interesting yes”
Dave Rubin you know um there's always I think it's the uh what is it the public lies private truths book Tim timer Kur… 1
“you know um there's always I think it's the uh what is it the public lies private truths book Tim timer Kuran I believe”
