A grifter is a person who enriches themselves by tricking other people. I will describe some human activities as grift that maybe we don’t usually think of in these terms, but we should, because the definition fits. In referring to the present as the “age of the grift,” I mean exactly that—we live in an era where cheating, in a wide variety of ways and venues—but ultimately for financial gain, as that is how we generally measure success in this era—is easier to do, harder to catch, and more incentivized than ever before. It comes down to how we believe, learn, think, and structure knowledge.

I’ve never heard a child say, “I want to be a sociologist when I grow up” in the same sense that children want to be firefighters, doctors, professional athletes, or celebrities. And when I explain to family or old friends from my own blue-collar upbringing in Arlington, Texas that I study sociology, they’re often puzzled. “A degree in sociology? What are you going to do with that?” This is a brief response, a personal take on what sociologists do, and what sociology can offer.