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4a5b4d7
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The best bluff, it turns out, is the one in which even the bluffer is unaware of the cards he is holding.
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David McRaney |
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3939b34
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When the third person effect leads you to condone censorship, take a step back and imagine the sort of messages people on the other side might think are brainwashing you, and then ask yourself if those messages should be censored too.
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David McRaney |
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734f989
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The next time you get a pimple on your forehead, or buy a new pair of shoes, or Tweet about how boring your day is, don't expect anyone to notice. You are not so smart or special.
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David McRaney |
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65301d2
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THE MISCONCEPTION: There is a Rolodex in your mind with the names and faces of everyone you've ever known. THE TRUTH: You can maintain relationships and keep up with only around 150 people at once.
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David McRaney |
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f844db2
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How do you separate fantasy from reality? How can you be sure the story of your life both from long ago and minute to minute is true? There is a pleasant vindication to be found when you accept that you can't. No one can, yet we persist and thrive. Who you think you are is sort of like a movie based on true events, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The details may be embellished, but the big picture, the general idea, is probably a good..
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David McRaney |
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18762c6
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THE MISCONCEPTION: Both consumerism and capitalism are sustained by corporations and advertising. THE TRUTH: Both consumerism and capitalism are driven by competition among consumers for status.
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David McRaney |
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05381bd
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Take out a piece of paper and get ready to write. Really do it; it will be fun. OK. Now, read the following list of words out loud one time, and then try to write as many of them as you can remember on the paper without looking back. When you think you have them all down on paper, come back to the book. Go: door, glass, pane, shade, ledge, sill, house, open, curtain, frame, view, breeze, sash, screen, shutter Now, take a look at the list. H..
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David McRaney |
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c735664
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People who take credit for the times when things go their way but who put the blame on others when they stumble or fall are generally happier people.
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David McRaney |
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afd7c68
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THE MISCONCEPTION: You know how your opinions have changed over time. THE TRUTH: Unless you consciously keep tabs on your progress, you assume the way you feel now is the way you have always felt.
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David McRaney |
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bd51c9d
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THE MISCONCEPTION: We could create a system with no regulations where everyone would contribute to the good of society, everyone would benefit, and everyone would be happy. THE TRUTH: Without some form of regulation, slackers and cheaters will crash economic systems because people don't want to feel like suckers.
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David McRaney |
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747f138
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THE MISCONCEPTION: You choose to accept or refuse an offer based on logic. THE TRUTH: When it comes to making a deal, you base your decision on your status.
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David McRaney |
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221c05a
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A roundworm has about three hundred neurons. A cat has about a billion, and you have about eighty-five billion.
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David McRaney |
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0f78258
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you are the same as an insect, just with a more complex nervous system responding to stimuli with a wider array of denser behavioral routines that only appear to give rise to consciousness.
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David McRaney |
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55ef7f5
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The researchers discovered that money is indeed a major factor in day-to-day happiness. No surprise there. You need to make a certain amount, on average, to be able to afford food, shelter, clothing, entertainment, and the occasional Apple product, but what spun top hats around the country was their finding that, beyond a certain point, your happiness levels off. The happiness that money offers doesn't keep getting more and more potent--it ..
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David McRaney |
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d70f16c
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One of the stranger facets of consistency bias is how it can be evoked on the spot. If you are primed to believe you are an honest person, you will then act as if you are.
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David McRaney |
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d4e4149
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Research by psychologist Steven Sloman and marketing expert Phil Fernbach shows that people who claim to understand complicated political topics such as cap and trade and flat taxes tend to reveal their ignorance when asked to provide a detailed explanation without the aid of Google. Though people on either side of an issue may believe they know their opponents' positions, when put to the task of breaking it down they soon learn that they h..
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David McRaney |
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2fb7a0d
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To be less dumb, remember your propensity for post hoc postulation and the power positive permutations of the placebo effect have to pollute your perspicacity.
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David McRaney |
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fed3171
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One of the greatest discoveries in recent years was to find that mirror neurons fire also when you do things. It is as if part of your brain is observing yourself as an outsider. You are a story you tell yourself.
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David McRaney |
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d31fdcc
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As you just read that list, maybe you said to yourself, "No, I don't think I'm better than everyone." So you think you're more honest with yourself than the average person? You are not so smart.) No one, it seems, believes he or she is part of the population"
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David McRaney |
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9c38ed5
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Calling someone a bigot, or an idiot, or an asshole feels good, but it does not prove you right or that person wrong.
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David McRaney |
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548e305
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The social Web is revolutionizing the way institutions operate, and the way people communicate, but in the end it might not have much of an effect on the core social group you depend on for true friendship. You can maintain a giant number of weak ties to people on Facebook, Twitter, and whatever comes next, much like you can in a giant company. Strong ties, however, require constant grooming. People who use the number of friends they have o..
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David McRaney |
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690ad3f
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Believing you understand your motivations and desires, your likes and dislikes, is called the introspection illusion. You believe you know yourself and why you are the way you are. You believe this knowledge tells you how you will act in all future situations. Research shows otherwise.
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David McRaney |
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f6d290d
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When you are making plans, your better angels point to the nourishing choices, but in the moment you go for what tastes good.
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David McRaney |
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7c615e4
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Indeed, later research backed up their claims, showing that people who are brutally honest with themselves are not as happy day to day as people with unrealistic assumptions about their abilities. People who take credit for the times when things go their way but who put the blame on others when they stumble or fall are generally happier people.
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David McRaney |
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0464496
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THE MISCONCEPTION:
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David McRaney |
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3abd351
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If you see yourself as the kind of person who owns Apple computers, or who drives hybrids, or who smokes Camels, you've been branded. And once a person is branded, that person will defend the brand by finding flaws in the alternative choice and pointing out benefits in his or her own.
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David McRaney |
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63aa254
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those who believe failure is not an option never plan for it.
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David McRaney |
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aff91ec
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The research into cultural cognition is new, but these studies suggest that Western culture is less concerned with context and more concerned with the center of attention, which means it is possible Westerners are more susceptible to both change blindness and inattentional blindness.
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David McRaney |
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a61eded
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The promise of revenge is one way human beings ensure fairness, and you are precisely tuned to expect it. Your perceived status is part of the unconscious equation you work out when accepting, refusing, and making offers with other people.
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David McRaney |
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8e6c842
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THE MISCONCEPTION: When you argue, you try to stick to the facts. THE TRUTH: In any argument, anger will tempt you to reframe your opponent's position.
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David McRaney |
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5791d00
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THE MISCONCEPTION: You can predict how well you would perform in any situation. THE TRUTH: You are generally pretty bad at estimating your competence and the difficulty of complex tasks.
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David McRaney |
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b7086e2
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As the philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, "In the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt."
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David McRaney |
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f13ae10
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Scientists tell us we all come from monkeys, and that's why I homeschool," this person is using a straw man, because science doesn't say we all come from monkeys."
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David McRaney |
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a9307ce
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THE MISCONCEPTION: With the advent of mass media, you understand how the world works based on statistics and facts culled from many examples. THE TRUTH: You are far more likely to believe something is commonplace if you can find just one example of it, and you are far less likely to believe in something you've never seen or heard of before.
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David McRaney |
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6b4d939
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Your beliefs are rational, logical and fact-based, right? Well, consider a topic such as spanking. Is it right or wrong? Is it harmless or harmful? Is it lazy parenting or tough love? Science has an answer, but let's get to that later. For now, savor your emotional reaction to the issue and realize you are willing to be swayed, willing to be edified on a great many things, but you keep a special set of topics separate. The last time you got..
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David McRaney |
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40c5493
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THE MISCONCEPTION: You see everything going on before your eyes, taking in all the information like a camera. THE TRUTH: You are aware only of a small amount of the total information your eyes take in, and even less is processed by your conscious mind and remembered.
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David McRaney |
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fb0204f
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Psychologists call missing information in plain sight inattentional blindness. You believe with confidence your eyes capture everything before them and your memories are recorded versions of those captured images. The truth, though, is you see only a small portion of your environment at any one moment. Your attention is like a spotlight, and only the illuminated portions of the world appear in your perception.
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David McRaney |
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08438fa
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One of the best things about owning a brain is how you often seem to phase out of normalcy and briefly see your culture with a weirdly objective frame of mind. At some point every child realizes money is made up of slips of paper with no intrinsic value, and wonders why aloud. So, too, will children ask adults what's up with shaking hands, or putting your fork on one side of the plate, or saying "Bless you" after a sneeze. Parents apply the..
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David McRaney |
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923a157
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In 2006, researchers Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler created fake newspaper articles about polarizing political issues. The articles were written in a way that would confirm a widespread misconception about certain ideas in American politics. As soon as a person read a fake article, experimenters then handed over a true article that corrected the first. For instance, one article suggested that the United States had found weapons of mass des..
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David McRaney |
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ea251af
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Apophenia isn't always a bad thing. You need a sense of meaning to get out of bed, to push forward against the grain. Just remember that meaning comes only from within. Your mind is preorganized to notice order, even when the order is defined by your culture and not your synapses.
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David McRaney |
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bf39551
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Subjective Validation THE MISCONCEPTION: You are skeptical of generalities. THE TRUTH: You are prone to believing vague statements and predictions are true, especially if they are positive and address you personally.
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David McRaney |
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daf3498
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finished to raise their hands,
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David McRaney |
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d97d92c
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Piyango bileti satin almaya giderken kaza gecirip bir otomobilin icinde olme ihtimaliniz, ikramiye kazanma ihtimalinizden yuksektir.
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David McRaney |
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3ef70f5
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THE MISCONCEPTION: You know when you are being influenced and how it is affecting your behavior. THE TRUTH: You are unaware of the constant nudging you receive from ideas formed in your unconscious mind.
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David McRaney |