Psychologist Bertram Forer gave 39 of his students a personality test. Each was given a personalised profile based on their answers. Except they were all given the same profile...taken from an astrology book. When asked to assess how well it described them, on a 0-5 scale, the students reported an average of 4.3. Wikipedia describes the Forer effect as ...a common psychological phenomenon … [Read more...]
Why is everything so complicated?
Ever expressed frustration that stuff is unnecessarily complicated? If so, a new paper published in Nature might have an explanation. Apparently, when solving problems, we have a natural inclination to add things. For instance, when asked to make a design symmetrical, people are more likely to do so by adding features, rather than removing them. You can see evidence of this in a range of technical … [Read more...]
Game theory and the evolution of trust
Trust seems to be a rare commodity these days. Game theory helps us understand how distrust grows within a society and---encouragingly---suggest ways in which we might stop the rot. Nicky Case has brought this dry subject matter to life via a wonderful interactive description of how (dis)trust evolves. It's about 30 minutes long. Just play it. … [Read more...]
The neuroscience behind bad decisions
People often make irrational decisions. An article in Quanta Magazine describes how too much choice can often be to blame. The article also discusses the attempts of neuroscientists to understand the mechanics underlying irrational decisions. Technologies like functional MRI (fMRI) are driving the emerging field of neuroeconomics. Neuroscientist Paul Glimcher claims to be ...aiming for a … [Read more...]
The dangers of democratic decision-making
Winston Churchill once said ...it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried... I suspect the Natural Environment Research Council might beg to differ after "RRS Boaty McBoatface" has topped a national poll to name their new vessel. The danger of asking for opinions is that you might just get them. … [Read more...]