Mind

Hacks 70-74 We consider ourselves pretty rational animals, and we can indeed be pretty logical when we put our minds to it. But you only have to scratch the surface to find out how easily we're misled by numbers [Hack #70], and it's well-know...

Funny things happen to them as they go into our heads. Although we can instantly appreciate how many items comprise small groups (small meaning four or fewer [Hack #35] ), reasoning about bigger numbers requires counting, and counting requir...

Fortunately you can make it easier by presenting the same information in a way that meshes with our evolved capacity to reason about how often things happen. Mark Twain once said, "People commonly use statistics like a drunk uses a lamppost...

Despite the old saying that we're ruled by our emotions, it's tempting to believe that we have at least some intuitive sense of logic. The various forms of logic such as syllogisms and deductive and inductive reasoning1 seem so simple and fundam...

Medical assistance shifts the burden of protection from self to other, which allows the brain to reduce its self-imposed unpleasantness. Injury or infection triggers a coordinated suite of physiological responses involving the brain, hormones...

If you really want people to try something new, you should just coerce them into giving it a go and chuck the idea of persuading them straight off. By default, people side with what already is and what happened last time. We're curious, a...