Deception, delusion, and the pursuit of filthy lucre

''Idiot Proof: Deluded Celebrities, Irrational Power Brokers, Media Morons and the Erosion of Common Sense," by Francis Wheen (PublicAffairs, $25), is badly served by its title, which seems designed to appeal to a gawking mentality -- which suggests how whoever came up with it conceives Americans, for in England, it is titled ''How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World: A Short History of Modern Delusions." What the book is, is a generally intelligent, somewhat scattershot, very well-written rant against all the baloney that people seem increasingly to believe. It is very much for readers who share its outlook, which is scathing against religious and economic fundamentalism, New Age views of spiritual and financial matters, protuberant globalism, deconstruction, emotionally unlaced politicians, and unified theories of everything. Despite Wheen's simple-minded view of the Enlightenment, nave atheism, and tendency to divide the world into two camps -- despite deploring just that in others -- I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was, I might add, especially bracing to read as counterprogramming during the recent coverage of the Reagan funeral.