October 2017 Discover

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EVERYTHINGWORTHKNOWING

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How We DecideMake up your mind already!

When we’re presented with a choice, we carefully weigh the alternatives and choose the option that makes the most sense — or do we? Only recently has science begun to unravel how weeven seemingly unrelated cues, our assessment In the face of stress or time pressure, or really make decisions.

of situations and the choices we ultimately make can be colored by innate biases, flawed assumptions and prejudices born of personal experience. And we’re clueless about how they

influence our judgments. These unconscious processes can lead us to make decisions that, in fact, don’t really make much sense at all.people and offer each person a dollar. Do this If you’re not convinced, go to a group of

five times, each time asking if the individual wants to buy a $1 lottery ticket. Then offer

$5 all at once to a second group, and ask the people how many lottery tickets they would like to buy. You’d think both groups would buy the same number of tickets — after all, they got the same amount of money.

that the first group would consistently buy as many given the same amount of money but only one chance to buy lottery tickets. Nope. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon found lottery tickets as the group that was twice

unconscious biases in action: Change your hairstyle. This experience inspired Malcolm Gladwell to write the bestseller looked at the science of snap judgments. Here’s another way to see irrational, Blink, which

After he grew his hair long, his life changed “in very small but significant ways.” He got speeding tickets, was pulled out of airport security lines, and was questioned by police in a rape case, even though the prime suspect

was much taller.

real-world examples at odds with traditional theories used to predict human behavior. These scenarios tell us that decision-making can depend on perspective and unconscious The lottery and hair scenarios provide

stereotypes. These kinds of biases do serve an evolutionary purpose, many other researchers have found. In some cases, making snap decisions and following your gut can be an advantage, especially in high-pressure, time-

sensitive situations. when we decide are so powerful that efforts to uncover and understand them have won at least two researchers the Nobel Prize in recent years.The hidden, unconscious processes at work

CHECKS AND BALANCES

System 1

QUALITIES ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGE

System 2

QUALITIES ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGE

Unconscious processes decisions that, in fact, can lead us to make

don’t really make much sense at all.

AMY SHIRA TEITEL

PRINT FEEDBACK

A Second Opinion
The article “Everything
Worth Knowing: How
We Decide” by Adam
Piore (July/August 2017) is interesting. It struck me that
research in our culture tends to underappreciate the
influence of others on our decision-making. Whether
the person sitting next to you agrees or disagrees with
your initial decision can make a huge difference. It may
even change the course of your life for good.
Rowena Kong, Vancouver, British Columbia

Battery of the Future
I have been a longtime subscriber, since I very much
look forward to every issue of Discover. “Everything
Worth Knowing: The Perfect Battery” by Stephen Ornes
(July/August 2017) was of particular interest to me.
I was fully expecting to read about lithium-polymer
(LiPo) batteries, but there was no mention. More than
10 years ago, when inexpensive, ultralight remote con-
trol helicopters began to be marketed, I was especially
intrigued by the extremely light LiPo battery in one of
these toys I bought for my young nephew. I looked up
LiPos, and the main drawback was that if incorrectly
charged, they could burn violently. But the power-to-
mass ratio seemed extraordinary. The technology was
in its infancy, so I fully expected to see LiPos replacing
lithium-ions, but apparently this has not happened.
Victor Velelli, Slanesville, W.Va.

NEW BLOGGER

We are pleased to announce

that Amy Shira Teitel, author

of the Vintage Space

blog, has joined Discover.

Vintage Space is all about

digging into the minutia of

the Space Age. Rather than

retelling glossy stories of

astronauts, Vintage Space

peels back that veneer to look at the real stories — the

innovations that failed, the unrealized technologies and

the human element that so often remains buried.

Visit blogs.discovermagazine.com/vintagespace

Also, be sure to check out Vintage Space on YouTube

and say hi to Pete, Amy’s feline friend!

October 2017^ DISCOVER^7

Feedback is edited for space and clarity.

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