Technical insights and deep-dives in Mind & Psychology.
We stay in bad jobs, bad relationships, and bad projects because we've already invested so much. But the money is gone. The time is gone. Only the future matters.
We have a deep-seated instinct to obey authority figures, even when they are wrong. Doctors, police, experts. The Milgram Experiment.
When we are uncertain, we look to others to see what is correct. If everyone is looking up, you will look up too.
One marshmallow now, or two later? This simple choice is one of the strongest predictors of future success.
If someone buys you a coke, you feel obligated to buy a raffle ticket. This deep social norm is the glue of society—and a weapon of influence.
If you hear hooves, think horses, not zebras. Converting specific information into probability requires knowing the base rate.