"Gaslighting" is suddenly in everyone's vocabulary. It's written about, talked about, tweeted about, even sung about (in "Gaslighting" by The Chicks). It's become shorthand for being manipulated by someone who insists that up is down, hot is cold, dark is light-someone who isn't just lying about such things, but trying to drive you crazy. The term has its origins in a 1944 film in which a husband does exactly that to his wife, his crazy-making efforts...

Argues society requires trust in order to function, describes how society creates and maintains that trust through societal pressures, and discusses what happens when those pressures fail.