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In both cases, we don’t look at the true, absolute value presented to us: $20 for a five-minute drive. Instead, we consider $20 compared to $60 and to $1,060 respectively. We compare the relative advantage of $40 shoes to $60 shoes, and decide the money is worth the time. Then we compare the relative advantage of a $1,040 patio set to a $1,060 one
... See moreDan Ariely • Dollars and Sense
I began this chapter with the example of cancer incidence across the United States. The example appears in a book intended for statistics teachers, but I learned about it from an amusing article by the two statisticians I quoted earlier, Howard Wainer and Harris Zwerling. Their essay focused on a large investment, some $1.7 billion, which the Gates
... See moreDaniel Kahneman • Thinking, Fast and Slow
William Poundstone comments in Priceless: The Psychology of Hidden Value:
Dr. David Lewis • The Brain Sell: How the new mind sciences and the persuasion industry are reading our thoughts, influencing our emotions, and stimulating us to shop
She found that the NIT didn’t reduce employment nearly as much as people feared, but there was a very unexpected spike in divorce. Poor families that were randomly selected to receive the NIT were more likely to split up.