WS: More or Less - How well do you under...

If you had a choice between instantly receiving £50,000 or a 50% chance to win £1m, which would you pick?When YouGov asked exactly that question to people in the UK, 73% said they would take the £50,000, while 21% opted for the 50/50 chance of winning £1m.As you may or may not ha ... Show More

What is the error in the calculation Donald Trump used to work out his new tariffs? What happened when the government ordered a recount of bobbies on the beat?When is a tax freeze not a tax freeze? And do redheads really have a 25% higher tolerance to pain? Tim Harford investigat ... Show More

The crime rate in London has been cropping up regularly on social media and in political discussions - US president Donald Trump has claimed that crime in the city is ‘through the roof’.But what does the data tell us?Professor Matt Ashby, from University College London’s Centre f ... Show More

Daniel talks to Zach Weinersmith about the most common misconceptions about our Universe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

<p>What can history teach us about the present? How can the average person use critical thinking to avoid being taken in by slick infographics and ardent pundits? In today’s interview, Ben, Matt and Noel sit down with legendary economist, author and podcaster Tim Harford to learn ... Show More

Sam Harris speaks with Zeynep Tufekci about the problem of misinformation and group-think. They discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, the early failures of journalists and public health professionals to make sense of it, the sociology of mask wearing, the problem of correcting instituti ... Show More

We're no stranger to stories about misinformation or deliberate disinformation. We live in a world where now more than ever, you have to be skeptical. That skepticism can be healthy, but it also can be used to cast more doubt and misinformation on data and statistics that are ver ... Show More

We're no stranger to stories about misinformation or deliberate disinformation. We live in a world where now more than ever, you have to be skeptical. That skepticism can be healthy, but it also can be used to cast more doubt and misinformation on data and statistics that are ver ... Show More

<p>At every stage of life, there are moments when we need buy-in from other people. Yet most of us make a fundamental error when we try to persuade others to see things our way. This week, we talk with <a href="https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/s/sivana ... Show More

<p>You probably know someone who thinks they know more about something than they really do. But you could never be described that way . . . could you? This week, cognitive scientist <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/business/leeds-directory/faculty/philip-fernbach">Phil Fernbach< ... Show More

<p>So often, we think we know what other people are thinking. But researchers have found that our attempts at reading other people go wrong more often than we realize.  This week, we talk with psychologist <a href="https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/tessa-west.html">Tessa West</a> about ... Show More

For years, we’ve been asking experts, celebrities, authors and you our Make Me Smart question: What’s something you thought you knew but later found out you were wrong about? From the power of poetry to the problem with perfectionism, we’ve heard lots of smart answers, and today ... Show More

Daniel talks to Prof. Tim O'Connor about why the craziness of the world around us seems to resolve into things we can understand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.