Why does everything feel distorted? Why do smart people fall for stories that feel true but aren’t?

In DISTORTED, strategist and media analyst Jim Detjen uncovers the forces that shape what we accept as real — from the rise of “poetic truth” to the incentives that reward outrage over evidence. Drawing on psychology, memory science, cultural commentary, and real-world case studies, Detjen reveals how confusion quietly became a feature of modern life — not a glitch.

From political messaging and media narratives to corporate PR, social feeds, and even personal relationships, DISTORTED shows why so many people feel the world suddenly stopped making sense — and how clarity can be rebuilt.

Clear, provocative, and deeply resonant, DISTORTED gives readers tools to decode narratives, recognize manipulation, and rebuild a grounded sense of reality in a world where certainty is easily manufactured but rarely deserved.

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⭐ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

• How gaslighting works at scale  
• Why “poetic truth” so often overtakes factual truth
• How institutions (media, tech, politics) distort uncertainty  
  
• How narrative psychology shapes what we remember—and believe  
  
• Practical tools for seeing clearly in a distorted world  

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⭐ PERFECT FOR READERS OF  

Jonathan Haidt • Malcolm Gladwell • Neil Postman • Tom Nichols • Daniel Kahneman  

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⭐ ABOUT THE AUTHOR  

Jim Detjen is a strategist and media analyst whose work focuses on narrative perception and clarity. He advises Fortune 500 companies and leading universities, with projects connected to Harvard shaping his thinking on perception and high-uncertainty decision-making. A former U.S. Army infantryman, he is the host of the Think First podcast. DISTORTED is his debut book.