Sign-In
Cart
Discernment Overwhelmed: How Humanity Solved the Problem of Knowledge - and Created a Harder One
Paperback
PhilosophyGeneral ComputersGeneral Sociology
Publisher Price: $19.99
Publisher: John E Thomas
Published: Sep 12 2026
Pages: 194
Weight: 0.59
Height: 0.45 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Humanity has more access to knowledge than any generation in history. So why does deciding what to believe sometimes seem harder than ever?
Discernment Overwhelmed began with a suspicion: perhaps society was entering a kind of Dis-Enlightenment, abandoning established knowledge for increasingly irrational ideas.
John Thomas set out to test that assumption rather than defend it.
Using published research, competing explanations, and multiple artificial-intelligence systems deliberately tasked with challenging his conclusions, he followed the evidence wherever it led. His original theory did not survive.
What emerged was a more interesting problem.
Human beings may not have lost the ability to discern. Instead, we have radically changed the conditions under which discernment has to operate.
Information is abundant. It moves faster. Algorithms influence what reaches us. Social and economic incentives reward some information over others. Generative AI can now produce persuasive answers almost instantly-whether those answers deserve our confidence or not.
Discernment Overwhelmed investigates what happens when extraordinary access to knowledge collides with the very human challenge of deciding what is true, what deserves confidence, and what to do next.
The result is neither an argument against technology nor a prediction of inevitable decline. It is an evidence-driven examination of how human judgment is changing-and how people and machines might work together to strengthen it.
We solved much of the problem of getting information.
Now we have to become better at deciding what to do with it.
Also from
Thomas, John
Alternative First Aid Reference Guide for Campers, Preppers, and Household Use
Rivera, Kerri
Thomas, John
Paperback
Dad Jokes: 1000 of The Best (and WORST) DAD JOKES: For Dads who THINK they're funny!
Thomas, John
Paperback
Crushing the Begging Bowl: How Entrepreneurial Nonprofits Can Empower Themselves and Their Customers
Betro, Dom
Thomas, John
Chartier, Gary
Paperback
The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales: Collected Out of Ancient Manuscripts; Volume 1
Thomas, John
Morganwg, Iolo
Jones, Owen
Paperback
The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales: Collected Out of Ancient Manuscripts; Volume 1
Thomas, John
Morganwg, Iolo
Jones, Owen
Hardcover
Diary of John Thomas, Surgeon in Winslow's Expedition of 1755 Against the Acadians
Thomas, John
Paperback
The Economics of Coal From the Coal Seam to the Consumer's Cellar, With Special Reference to the Reports of the Coal Industry Commission
Hodges, Frank
Thomas, John
Party, Independent Labour
Paperback
The Economics of Coal From the Coal Seam to the Consumer's Cellar, With Special Reference to the Reports of the Coal Industry Commission
Hodges, Frank
Thomas, John
Party, Independent Labour
Hardcover
Elpis Israel: An Exposition of the Kingdom of God, With Reference to the Time of the End, and the Age to Come
Thomas, John
Hardcover
Elpis Israel: An Exposition of the Kingdom of God, With Reference to the Time of the End, and the Age to Come
Thomas, John
Paperback
Evangelising the Nation: Religion and the Formation of Naga Political Identity
Thomas, John
Hardcover
Diary of John Thomas, Surgeon in Winslow's Expedition of 1755 Against the Acadians
Thomas, John
Hardcover
Evangelising the Nation: Religion and the Formation of Naga Political Identity
Thomas, John
Paperback
Also in
General Computers
All Data Are Local: Thinking Critically in a Data-Driven Society
Loukissas, Yanni Alexander
Paperback
Comptia Network+ Certmike: Prepare. Practice. Pass the Test! Get Certified!: Exam N10-008
Chapple, Mike
Zacker, Craig
Paperback
Interactive Theorem Proving and Program Development: Coq'art: The Calculus of Inductive Constructions
Castéran, Pierre
Bertot, Yves
Hardcover
R for Data Science: Import, Tidy, Transform, Visualize, and Model Data
Wickham, Hadley
Grolemund, Garrett
Paperback
The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think about Artificial Intelligence--Before It's Too Late
Doctorow, Cory
Paperback
The Agi Chronicles: The Inside Story of the Race to Create an Artificial Superintelligence
Roose, Kevin
Hardcover
Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems
Kleppmann, Martin
Riccomini, Chris
Paperback
The Year in Tech, 2027: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review
Davenport, Thomas H.
Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter
Tyrangiel, Josh
Hardcover
If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All
Yudkowsky, Eliezer
Soares, Nate
Hardcover
Human Raised: Nurturing Connection, Curiosity & Lifelong Learning in the Age of AI
Suskind, Dana, MD
Hardcover
The Eureka Machine: Why AI Is the Key to Unlocking a New Era of Scientific Discoveries
Socher, Richard
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on AI (with Bonus Article How to Win with Machine Learning by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and AVI Goldfarb)
Davenport, Thomas H.
Iansiti, Marco
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
The Year in Tech, 2026: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review
Webb, Amy
Review, Harvard Business
Anthony, Scott D.
Paperback
CompTIA Network+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exam N10-009)
Weissman, Jonathan S.
Paperback
The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want
Bender, Emily M.
Hanna, Alex
Hardcover
Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience
Cole, Jesse
Paperback
Generative Ai: The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review
Mollick, Ethan
Cremer, David De
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
A Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future
Wachter, Robert
Hardcover
AI Literacy in Any Class: Preparing Students to Thrive in an AI Future in Any Grade Level or Content Area
Miller, Matt
Paperback
Obsolete: The AI Industry's Trillion Dollar Race to Replace Us--And How to Stop It
Lovely, Garrison
Paperback
Fundamentals of Data Engineering: Plan and Build Robust Data Systems
Reis, Joe
Housley, Matt
Paperback
Love Machines: How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Our Relationships
Muldoon, James
Hardcover
Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
Crawford, Kate
Paperback
AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference
Kapoor, Sayash
Narayanan, Arvind
Paperback
AI with Intention: Principles and Action Steps for Teachers and School Leaders
Frontier, Tony
Paperback
Python Crash Course, 3rd Edition: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming
Matthes, Eric
Paperback
AP Computer Science Principles Premium, 2027: 6 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice
Reichelson, Seth
Paperback
An Illustrated Guide to AI Agents: Concepts and Code for Building Agents with Llms, Tools, and Memory
Alammar, Jay
Grootendorst, Maarten
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Artificial Intelligence, Updated and Expanded (Featuring How AI Can Help Managers Think Through Problems by Elisa Farri and Gab
Agrawal, Ajay
Review, Harvard Business
Davenport, Thomas H.
Paperback
The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip
Witt, Stephen
Hardcover
CompTIA Tech+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Third Edition (Exam FC0-U71)
Wempen, Faithe
Paperback
Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn and Pytorch: Concepts, Tools, and Techniques to Build Intelligent Systems
Géron, Aurélien
Paperback
The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a New Section: On Robustness and Fragility
Taleb, Nassim Nicholas
Paperback
Guilty Pleasure: The Pornification of the Internet, the Economy, and Everything Else
Nilsson, Patricia
Hardcover
Embedded Systems with ARM Cortex-M Microcontrollers in Assembly Language and C: Fourth Edition
Zhu, Yifeng
Paperback
We Are as Gods: A Survival Guide for the Age of Abundance
Diamandis, Peter H.
Kotler, Steven
Hardcover
Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans (with a New Preface)
Mitchell, Melanie
Paperback
AP Computer Science a Premium, 13th Edition: Prep Book with 6 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice (2026)
Carman, Chris
Teukolsky, Roselyn, M. S.
Paperback
Hands-On Large Language Models: Language Understanding and Generation
Alammar, Jay
Grootendorst, Maarten
Paperback
Human + Machine, Updated and Expanded: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI
Wilson, H. James
Daugherty, Paul R.
Hardcover
Fundamentals of Software Architecture: A Modern Engineering Approach
Richards, Mark
Ford, Neal
Paperback
Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence
Gans, Joshua
Goldfarb, Avi
Agrawal, Ajay
Hardcover
The Empty Center: Permission, Connection, and What We Build When the Future is Uncertain
Drumwright, Hayes
Hardcover
The Problem with Personalization: How Advertisers Learned to Make and Break Us from Ancient Times to the AI Age
Turow, Joseph
Hardcover
Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet with a New Introduction by the Author
Blum, Andrew
Paperback
Minecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval Fortress: An Official Mojang Book
The Official Minecraft Team
Mojang Ab
Paperback
AI Projects with Raspberry Pi: High-Performance Artificial Intelligence for Robotics, Security, Home Automation, and Vision
Hattersley, Lucy
Jepson, Brian
Paperback
RHCSA Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10: Training and Exam Preparation Guide (EX200), Fourth Edition
Ghori, Asghar
Paperback
You Look Like a Thing and I Love You: How Artificial Intelligence Works and Why It's Making the World a Weirder Place
Shane, Janelle
Paperback
The Empty Center: Permission, Connection, and What We Build When the Future is Uncertain
Drumwright, Hayes
Paperback
The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-First Century's Greatest Dilemma
Suleyman, Mustafa
Hardcover
Designing Machine Learning Systems: An Iterative Process for Production-Ready Applications
Huyen, Chip
Paperback
Site Reliability Engineering: How Google Runs Production Systems
Beyer, Betsy
Jones, Chris
Leng, Christof
Paperback
AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference
Narayanan, Arvind
Kapoor, Sayash
Hardcover
Artificial Intelligence All-In-One for Dummies
Massaron, Luca
Minnick, Chris
Mueller, John Paul
Paperback
The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters
Nichols, Tom
Paperback
Graphic Artists Guild Handbook, 17th Edition: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines
The Graphic Artists Guild
Paperback
The Devops Handbook, 2nd Edition: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, & Security in Technology Organizations
Debois, Patrick
Kim, Gene
Humble, Jez
Paperback
The Return on AI: From Promise to Profit in the Age of Intelligent Business
Mittal, Ashwin
Sawhney, Mohanbir
Paperback
Minecraft: Roll for Adventure: The Temple of the Charged Creeper
Forbeck, Matt
Forbeck, Marty
Hardcover
Comptia A+ Complete Study Guide, 2-Volume Set: Volume 1 Core 1 Exam 220-1201 and Volume 2 Core 2 Exam 220-1202
Docter, Quentin
Buhagiar, Jon
Paperback
Navigeren door het labyrint: Een handleiding voor het beheer van data
Sebastian-Coleman, Laura
Paperback
AI for Educators: Learning Strategies, Teacher Efficiencies, and a Vision for an Artificial Intelligence Future
Miller, Matt
Paperback
What Is Intelligence?: Lessons from AI about Evolution, Computing, and Minds
Aguera Y. Arcas, Blaise
Paperback
R for Data Science: Import, Tidy, Transform, Visualize, and Model Data
Grolemund, Garrett
Cetinkaya-Rundel, Mine
Wickham, Hadley
Paperback
More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead
Hougaard, Rasmus
Carter, Jacqueline
Hardcover
Evals for AI Engineers: Systematically Measuring and Improving AI Applications
Shankar, Shreya
Husain, Hamel
Paperback
Microsoft 365 Excel All-In-One for Dummies
Alexander, Michael
Kusleika, Dick
Ringstrom, David H.
Paperback