

In The War on Truth, a New Weapon
“Falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it,” wrote Jonathan Swift in 1710. Variations of the saying, including the punchier...


Would You Fall For It? The Conspiracy Mind
Are you likely to fall for a made-up government conspiracy? That depends: how well-informed are you? If you said “very”…bad news, you...


Salience Bias, or Why it's Okay to Eat the Apple
Apples: they’re full of fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins. And yet, if your young child scored a homemade candy apple while...


The Ostrich Effect
First things first: despite any cartoons you might’ve seen, ostriches don’t try to hide from danger by burying their heads in the sand....


How the Decoy Effect Makes Dupes of Us All
Imagine that, on the second morning of a business trip, you go to unzip your suitcase, only to realize you forgot to pack any pants. With...


The Frequency Illusion: How Not to Fall for Argle-Bargle
Let’s say you’re reading up on landmark Supreme Court decisions of the past decade. (Hey, everybody needs hobbies.) You’re skimming an...


The Problem(s) With Myers-Briggs in Business
Imagine going to a corporate team-building event where everyone in your office was sorted and evaluated based on the results of taking...


Fallen Empires and Phony Wine: The Seersucker Effect
Making iffy predictions about our future: it’s been a hallmark of human behavior for at least as long as we’ve been recording our...


Confirmation Bias and the Parasites Nesting in Your Brain
"What is the most resilient parasite?” asks Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2011 movie Inception. “Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm?”...


Why Evidence Doesn't Matter
Given that a good reporter is supposed to be both truthful and balanced, how should journalists cover an issue when opposing camps refuse...