We're All Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely

[louis229]

Wicked video mate, this makes a lot of sense.

[CrusstyJugglers]

Just bought his book, Predictably Irrational. I highly recommend it.

[SWLinPHX]

Damn, are we just sheep?!?

[VictorLepanto]

These pattern of influence are NOT irrational. They are necessary for us in living collectively w/ other human beings. I good book to read on this subject is the wisdom of crowds. We rely on cues to acquire information that would not be available to us otherwise. We as human beings engage in a kind of collective consciousness & thinking.

[DSBrekus]

@VictorLepanto The fact that there are rational evolutionary reasons for these behaviours doesn't make them any less irrational. Also I would challenge the claim that they are all necessary, many are simply wasteful and short-sighted with no gain for anyone.

[VictorLepanto]

@DSBrekus: Once again, go find the book The Wisdom of Crowds, it is precisely about how we as humans think in a collect way & perceive more through a kind collective in intelligence. Ever hear that "two heads are better then one?" How about 7 billion? How we interact w/. others helps us collectively come closer to the truth.

[BareFool]

hah! Now I gotta get studying further into this and see how I can apply it to making my enemies commit suicide... :D

[griftorifto2]

That's awesome, gonna pull some of that useless option psychology to get extra cash

[spartonne]

Holy shit that cube thing was trippy!

[VictorLepanto]

@spartonne: It was something of a cheat. The square perceived as being a lighter shade of yellow was in a shadow on the apparent side of the cube. We see the square standing out brighter then the surrounding squares & thus perceive it as lighter then the squares surrounding it. It was in fact lighter then them.

[sreeshankarlal1]

if u dont want to me to rob ur house, check the box below

[CalumnMcAulay]

great talk!

[arushandapushand]

What is he alluding to with his reference to not having a documentary about himself?

It raises quite a laught.

[SecretMisery]

I just bought one of his books, I am really looking forward to recieving it! :D

[powaowa]

I didn't even notice anything was "wrong" with his face until I read the comments describing what happened.

[theOliverse1]

The ten dislikes are always to ones invited out to the bar...

[cosg9531]

"Predictable irrationality" is an oxymoron. If irrationality were predictable, then it wouldn't be irrational. It wouldn't even be singularly rational. There could be many rational responses to a situation. However, stating that you can predict that people are irrational isn't a prediction, at all; it's a daily conclusion based upon the fact that most people are so stupid that they are bound to screw up most of the time. Welcome to planet Earth.

[SaintsOfImpurity]

@cosg9531 I like to read the comments before the videos often so that I can clearly see the controversies in it. If I understand you right i disagree. When someone makes a statement with noticable roots in a lack of fact and evidence they can be assumed to have made an irrational thought. If people also commonly make this choice then it is possible to predict this irrationality as the majority response, therefore someone would be right to say that they can predict this irrationality.

[ashishcs2]

@cosg9531 you should tell Dan that his idea that people will make irrational decisions in a systematic way is a complete crap

[azzy314159]

nonsense

[vireouson]

@azzy314159  Why?

[azzy314159]

@vireouson Sorry, I was wrong! :-( I saw the whole now. He is very interesting.

[azzy314159]

@vireouson Sorry. I was wrong. I did not watch all of it just the first few moments. I jumped o a bad conclusion, he is quite interesting. Sorry again.

[azzy314159]

@vireouson Sorry. I was wrong. I did not watch all of it, just the first few moments. I jumped to a bad conclusion He is quite interesting. Sorry again.

[vireouson]

@azzy314159 okie dokie!

[DoMoreGoodDeeds]

Okay, this was totally unexpected. I stumbled across this video by way of Philip Zimbardo, "why do people do bad", excellent video btw.

Anyway, what an AWESOME video, I really enjoyed it. Actually I loved it! And I will find a way to incorporate this teachings/ learnings into my research, Can you influence people to do good, when there is no money (power, status) to be made?

Thank you Dan Ariely for such a fine piece of work! You will be well remembered :0)

[ealvarezz10]

@DoMoreGoodDeeds me too

[88dtest]

im i the only guy thinking that the left table is longer since the red line isn't parallel to the table in both cases?

[noko2002]

@88dtest It's like the pint glass on a cigeratte pack, u get a piece of thread and measure the circumfrence of the rim of the glass..... turns out longer than the lenght of the glass on the cig box!.... 98% of people think the circumfrence is shorter!.......

[Porojukaha]

thumbs up if this guy reminds you of the free pickle dude

[BareFool]

@Anon371 and 100% of humans believe they're in that 2%... :D

[nkkari]

To change the meaning of perspective illusion or lightness of an object would be the same as we were told to change the meaning of these letters, so that "A" from now on would be pronounced as "T", etc - or actually this would even be changed more easily because letters are learned much later and don't touch so fundamental constructions in our brain.

[nkkari]

But, the two first examples didn't really convince me: They work with perspective and lightness in a way that our brain has used to interprete the visual signals since we are babies. So, of course we can tell ourselves the facts but we can't change the effect of our nerve impulses just after hearing these two facts, because that's the way our brain works. For me this has nothing to do with intelligence our thinking, as it is when we are dealing with more complex information.

[loui0008]

Thanks for this interesting research, Dan!

[MirageScience]

damn it, now i don't like myself after this xD

[7jjjohnson]

Imorio; Actually, I like a lot of what the guy says. I just get a little nuts when the brain/mind confusion comes up. Now, in response to your very well-thought-out observation: Meat damaged = perception obscured or distorted = mind thinks it sees something other than what it sees and thereafter responds to something other than what's there. So, yes, the two are connected. You and I agree. Thanks for responding.

[7jjjohnson]

Here's a living example of the the fallacy of psychology. It, as a subject of study, is nonsense. It sells this idea that we're all pretty much nuts. But, it studies the brain. Now, consider: The word "psychology" is derived from the the Greek word "psyche," which means "mind" or "spirit." The suffix "ology," in Greek or Latin - I don't recall which - means "study of." So, the word means "study of the mind." Yet, he refers to the brain; a piece of meat. Meat does not think. Minds think.

[imorio]

@7jjjohnson Consider this: meat (brain) damaged=mind damaged. Specific part of meat (brain) is damaged=specific part of mind is malfunctioning. Specific part of meat (brain) temporarily knocked out=specific part of mind temporarily knocked out.

Because we can see the brain, but nobody even can imagine what a "mind" should be and because whatever you do to the brain seems to directly effect the mind but not the other way around. Some people make the bizar assumption: mind=brain.

[paintitblack01]

@imorio Look into the pioneering efforts of neuroplasticians (search: "The Brain That Changed Itself)...their research is showing that yes, in fact, what happens cognitively in the "mind" (that is, how we think, our thought processes) has a direct effect on the physical structure of the "meat". It is actually a two way street. Really fascinating.

[majik2hanz]

Great lecture. The way the question is framed influences answer. This is why mass media and marketing in every industry use these techniques for their benefit to the detriment of an uneducated public.

The Opt-In versus Opt -Out question is so telling. The clearer way of asking (opt In) is often avoided. If you notice the verbiage for any tax issue on a ballot they always make it convoluted 'opt out' type questions.

[ThomasJAckerman]

@majik2hanz On paper you can present an empty checkbox with either an opt-in or opt-out question. What happens with an electronic form, where the creator has the option of defaulting to a checked box that the user can uncheck?

In my experience, such questions are usually phrased as opt-in (which is better UI design), with the default to participate moved from the question itself to the checkbox. E.g. "[X] Please send me promotional offers".

[majik2hanz]

@ThomasJAckerman

Yes I agree on electronic opt in. From what I have observed is it often times is not placed prominently. Rather, it tends to be buried or very small so people have to actually search diligently to find box. There's lots of annoying things to electronic design with bait techniques and then to extricate or back out of said 'rabbit hole' it tends to hang up ones browser.

[ChainGangPictures]

Amazing insight.

[1ProbablyHateYou]

One of the better ones from fora.

[riethc]

Why does this guy look like he just crawled out of a meth lab?

[ramen900]

Everyone I know is Irrational. Nobody I've ever spoke to in this life has any sense of rationality. Realiseation of anything. They're all weak minded sheeps. And so are many people reading my comment. That is the truth :D, deal with it.

[riethc]

@ramen900 Looks like you fell for the superiority complex aspect ingrained in this ideology. How predictable.

[ramen900]

@riethc Lol I guess. What else is there to it. I don't think I'm superior to people though.

[whyabadi]

Informative , pleasant, and entertaining.

[XavierDigital]

I loved listening to this. Thank you for posting it. This guy is really interesting.

[skazhiprivet]

Awesome!



[dennoow]

hahaha I'm from the Netherlands, that part about the letter is true! They actually had a huge campaign with that exactly that option! Great stuff! Very interesting!

[batlin]

I love what he has to say and how he says it. Very interesting guy!

[ObamaPress]

Brilliant!

[R0CKFACE]

I rap about this stuff. peace out

[rungazippa]

great work dan. well done.

[rungazippa]

great wrk dan. well done.

[Demoras]

Man! This guy is great! :D

[JakubCzep]

i like this guy! great stuff!

[JakubCzep]

i like this guy...great stuff!

[JakubCzep]

i like this guy...great stuff!!!

[JakubCzep]

i like this guy...great stuff!!!

[RE2AY]

INTERESTING

[shaheedaaq]

Absolutely Awesome! Enlightening, Entertaining and applicable to everyone whether you are trying to get a raise from your scrooge boss, or get your kids to clean their room or try to get that perfect date!

[m0rtem]

fascinating!

[yonifra2]

Great lecture!

[sk8ermr]

so good. but what happened to his right side of his face. burned?

[721tri]

@sk8ermr

He was born in New York while his father was studying for a degree at Columbia University, but grew up in Ramat Gan and Ramat Hasharon, Israel. When he was 18 and a newly enlisted soldier of the IDF he suffered third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body from an accidental magnesium flare explosion. Then he decided to study psychology.

[sk8ermr]

oh wow thats crazy. good for him

[grandcaravan2004]

@721tri you get it how you live, playa

[maaaaaaaaaaarcus]

yes. he was severely burned in a flare explosion (the one used to light battlefields at night) in Israel when he was 18.

[syzforever]

Yes, if you read his book, you will know that he is really unlucky when he was a child. And he went through the painful time others can hardly imagine

[z4294967296]

brilliant.

[dodgydogman]

The brown and yellow rubix cube thing is fake. They are differend colours. When they are covered up, the bottom 1 changes colour. Seriously, cover the tom 1 up and look, it changes.

[Bazompora]

No ... I don't think so;

when focussing on the 2 squares (image paused, yet without coverup background), they do look one and the same color.

[tdegler]

There is very simple way to check it. Pause the movie, screenshot it, then load the saved picture into any (even simpliest) paint software, then cut a part of the image showing one square, and close it to the other square.

And for the future - worst thing you can do in your life (but ofcourse most obvious) is to try and influence other people with your intuitions without putting ANY work to check if they are correct. Unless ofcourse you intend to fool other people the way you fool yourself.

[dodgydogman]

Holy shit iv never been so wrong. I just did that and it BLEW MY MIND.

[weefeatures]

About his face: for the record, when he was 18 he suffered severe burns due to a magnesium explosion.

The injuries are merely superficial, just listen to what this guy has to say, and don't be superficial yourselves.

[watdoin69]

Very interesting!

[commando2047]

quite informative

[dallasjock999]

wow ...awesome

[empty1cup]

The economist error was a very capturing study. i liked that alot.

tom and jerry study was great too lol and very true to life. great job!

[JimmySanders77]

Great video, very insightful!

[raintee0612]

lol so who's eco teacher sent them here?

[blaaahah]

not me, but im taking this into class

[troysKILLbruins]

i advise buying the book.

this guy has something really important to say to the world.

[tch3rno]

great vid, thanks

[razzmecotl]

That was fascinating. Thank you for sharing it. :)

[spamrisk]

The default trap goes a long way towards explaining why people stick with the religion they were raised with even when they see big unsolvable problems with it.

[tolchock1984]

He was once severely burned, give him a break

[DouglasNetchurch]

"You want a slightly uglier version of yourself..." --> when you can find one lol

[AAbsolute1969]

Now imagine the power of predictable response

[Memubitsu]

This is a rather good insight when organizing your kitchen so that you eat what you "want" for breakfast.

[Mrmoc7]

tis is amasing!

[muzzleray]

is this a stolen TED lecture, I don't think fora own the rights to this

[wgeorgew]

WHO CARES,

[DouglasNetchurch]

When I have to look at an ugly logo and somebody makes unfair claims, even lie, I do. If it's just pirated, I don't.

[prhughes0]

looks to me like it is the other way around, (but not stolen)

[simonbour]

TED talks are released under Creative Commons License, so it's not a problem.

[leorcc]

Actually Dan Ariely did the same lecture on several locations and symposiums. It is the same content but not the same lecture.

[wasimsworld]

Very clever. i liked the explanations from 12:18 onwards

[SPOON007a]

very insightfull

[AleclikeBaldwin]

excellent

-Alec

[michaeltheman8888]

wow interesting stuff

[NikkiNolanVideo]

I would highly recommend his book Predictably Irrational and if you like it read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell but if you dont like reading listen to Radio Lab on WNYC New York Public radio all super awesome!

[strongmitchell]

this guy is brilliant

[macpduff]

The cube is proof that Interor designers earn their salary. As an artist, it's almost impossible to tell in advance what a paint or color will look like when placed in a setting.

[paulpembroke]

I read Prof. Ariely's book twice, got a list of books to read from his MIT and personal website, and it convinced me to go to graduate school.

[luciwithdiamonds]

Fascinating!!

[tuamigamoni]

I love this guy and his videosare GREAT! makes you think alot. Thanks for sharing!

[Jake8skate]

Sorry to pull out something completely non sequitur, but was he in an accident of some kind? I think those are scars on his face and right arm. Anywase, the video was great and I enjoyed it.

[neobonline]

"As a teenager he suffered third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body from an accidental magnesium flare explosion." wiki

[paulpembroke]

...as a result of his mandatory participation in the Israeli army.

He was carrying a magnesium flare and it exploded. He writes about it in his book.

[andysnadden]

The analogy between seeing visual illusions and making irrational decisions does not hold logically, the functions are so different that it is entirely illogical to assume that we can draw inferences about one from the other. Everything else here was right on.

[redshiftexperiment]

his point was that vision was something that we are "suppose" to be good at. We spend all of our time dealing with visual problems and we still make mistakes. So we will make many more mistakes when dealing with things that are not our forte.

[andysnadden]

That does not establish a conceptual link between the mechanism of seeing and the mechanism of choosing.

[redshiftexperiment]

"seeing visual illusions" indicates that you would make poor decisions if you had to base those decisions on your incorrect perceptions. The concept is that people make mistakes based on their perceptions. It is just a good introduction to the meat of the studies that he has done.

[andysnadden]

That only holds true if the perceptions are visual, which they not. Its not a strong analogy for the topic he is speaking about.

[redshiftexperiment]

my opinion was that having these illustrations worked well for his topic. I guess we agree to disagree.

[VivekRajcoomar]

please suggest a better analogy then.

[humanist7117]

Rationality about Irrationslity!

[fielsjd]

Great video.

[Invain01]

Amazing video! Takes me back to my university days.

[dangerousprimate]

i love these vids, thanks ForaTv!

[eirefrance]

Suck it, objectivism!!!! I love this video.