New things I learned in 2024
Including cyborgs, cobras, and something called the next effect.
Thanks to all of you who have subscribed, read, commented, liked, and shared my stuff this year.
I started this newsletter six months ago as a notebook where I can scribble down tidbits from the research and reporting I’m doing for my book. Here’s a list of some of the most interesting things I’ve learned so far.
1. Hearing about a future tech upgrade can make you feel less happy about your current version.
A 2022 study called it the next effect and here’s how it works: Simply knowing that a newer version is coming in the future makes you like the current version less. Read more.
2. You are a cyborg, and so am I.
The definition of a cyborg is “any organism to which exogenous components are added for the purpose of adapting to ambient spaces.” Exogenous components, like phones, laptops, smart home devices, wearables, etc. Read more.
3. If you want to end a vacation on a good note, repeat something you already did.
Researchers found that “in ending contexts—that is, when people perceive a shrinking window of opportunity to enjoy some type of activity,” they tend to choose old favorites over new options. Read more.
4. A don’t-do list may be just as useful as a to-do list.
A don’t-do list is a form of negative planning, or “making an explicit list of what I’m not going to do.” Read more.
5. The defaults we set today play an outsized role in our future choices.
It’s called status quo bias. Essentially, when you’re given options to choose from, you may be more prone to pick the thing you’re already doing if it’s seen as the default. Read more.
6. The playbook used by influencers stretches back to World War I.
The two-step flow theory states that “ideas often flow from radio and print to opinion leaders and from these to the less active sections of the population.” Read more.
7. Humans have a bias for adding things, but subtraction can be a powerful force for good.
We’re so quick to overlook subtraction that we may be missing out on a suite of tools we could be using to solve important problems in life. Read more.
8. When you turn measures into targets, you could trigger the cobra effect.
When the British government sought to subdue an overpopulation of cobras in Delhi by placing a bounty on the snakes, the snake population went … up. Why? It has to do with an economic principle that says “when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” Read more.
9. Fast-forwarding through videos may cause boredom.
We jump from video to video to escape boredom. But when we do this, we may actually be making ourselves more bored. Read more.
10. Framing the present in historic terms is a method for persuasion.
Historizing the present happens when someone says something like, “this is a historic first” or “today we are making history.” Researchers said that when you hear someone historizing the present, you may feel compelled to take an action, like donate money, join a cause, buy a product, book a hotel, subscribe to a service, etc. Read more.
Thanks for reading—and happy holidays!
Eric
As always your insights are really interesting and intriguing Eric, thank you for sharing. Of all of them, I particularly appreciated the research result on "ending a vacation well"!