-
When It’s Bad to Have Good Choices
The New Yorker: It may not surprise you to learn that healthy, well-fed people in affluent countries are often unhappy and anxious. But it did startle Zbigniew Lipowski when he came to a full realization
-
How to Trick Your Kids Into Reading All Summer Long
The Atlantic: As the school year ends, students’ thoughts turn to summer vacation staples like swimming, camp, and popsicles. Teachers—and most parents—would like them to think about reading, too. School and district officials offer summer
-
“Precisely right. No doubt. Trust me.”
As a general rule, we tend to value confidence in other people, especially in the “experts” who help us with important decisions in life. Who wants a financial advisor who hesitates in his judgments, or
-
Heat wave psychology: Long past, greener future?
I live in Maryland, where we have been suffering through an unrelenting heat wave all summer, and I confess I have cranked up the AC on the worst days. But I always feel guilty about
-
Spooky Judgments: How Agents Think About Danger
We are watching Big Brother watching us. Whatever one thinks of Edward Snowden, hero or traitor or something in between, his revelations about sweeping NSA surveillance have gotten America’s attention. His whistle blowing has raised
-
When Patients Do Nothing: Illness and Inertia
One of the most daunting public health challenges is getting people to take care of themselves in the most basic ways. It’s not that people with cardiac risk don’t know about exercise and its heart