10 Interesting Tidbits

We (human beings) are fascinating creatures on many levels. I thought it would be fun to put together a list of 10 interesting tidbits about us. Some of these surprised me. Some made me shake my head in agreement. Some made me laugh. Without further ado (in no particular order of importance).

1. Confirmation Bias: As humans, we have a tendency to look for information and resources that support what we already believe while ignoring conflicting evidence.

2. Blushing: We are the only species on the planet that blushes.

3. Mental Anchor: The first thing we learn about something new tends to become our mental “anchor” that shapes our judgments around that topic going forward, even if the anchor is arbitrary. For example, if we hear for the first time that there are 11,500 bird species on the planet, that becomes our anchor.  

4. Smells: The human nose can distinguish around a trillion different odors.

5. Fundamental Attribution: We tend to strongly attribute someone’s behavior to their character and be dismissive of their situation. However, we judge our own behaviors by circumstances and the situation, rather than character.

6. Blood Vessels: Laid end-to-end, our blood vessels would wrap around the Earth about four times – or about 60,000 miles.

7. Availability Bias: We tend to believe something is more prevalent than it is based on how easily examples come to mind or how often we hear it. If we hear multiple stories of plane crashes, we begin to believe flying is more dangerous – even though statistics don’t support this belief.

8. DNA: Our DNA can stretch from Earth to the sun and back more than three times. That’s a ton of information shoved into each of us.  

9. Loss: Loss feels more painful than equivalent gains feel good. This means, generally speaking, we work harder to avoid loss than achieve gains.

10. Framing: How information is presented changes our decisions, even if the underlying facts are identical. For example, if a medical procedure is presented with a 90% success rate, we are likely to be on board. If that same procedure is presented with a 10% failure rate, we are more likely to not choose that procedure.

Crazy, huh?

Until next week.

Andy