27
YOU READ
MY MIND!
MAKING IT PERSONAL
If fortune-tellers don’t know anything about
someone in advance, it’s called “cold reading.”
A trick they use in this situation is to say things
that apply to almost everyone but that feel
really personal. For example, “You like being
with friends but sometimes like to be on your
own” or “You don’t like other people telling
you what to think.” Horoscopes use this
technique, too.CONFIRMATION BIAS
A fortune-teller will make many statements
about you during a reading. Some of them
will be completely wrong! But because of
something called confirmation bias, you will
only remember the things they got right!You like playing football (true).
You have a pet dog (false).
You love eating ice cream (true).That mind reader was amaaaazing!Why?Wow!She knew I liked
playing football and
eating ice cream.T
H
A
T
’S
T
RU
E—
HOW^ DID (^) YO
U
(^) K
N
O
W
?
Horoscopes are split into
twelve signs, which are based
on the time of year you were born.
“YO
U^ W
ILL^ R
ECEIVE SOM
E (^) M
ON
EY
.”
US_026-027_Reading_minds.indd 27 14/09/2018 09:13