Why are we likely to spend more after reading the word “bye”? Can the Word “Bye” Make You Buy? Imagine reading a travel article that ends with: “Bye-bye!” A few…
A newborn horse can stand within hours. A human baby cannot even hold up its head. The familiar explanation is that evolution shortened pregnancy so a baby’s brain could squeeze…
“Goodbye” Was Once a Blessing We say goodbye so casually that it sounds like a simple partner to good morning or good night. But the word originally mentioned God. In…
Why do we value items purchased in a bundle less than those purchased individually? Why We Treat the Same Thing Differently When It Comes in a Package Imagine buying 10…
A “Deadline” Was Once a Line You Could Die Crossing Today, a deadline is the time by which a report, payment, or project must be completed. Originally, however, it was…
A newborn chimpanzee carries roughly 3% body fat. A human newborn arrives with about 15%—an extraordinary amount for a terrestrial mammal. Those chubby cheeks may reflect one of humanity’s most…
What Is Quantitative Easing (QE)? When an economy is weak, central banks usually try to stimulate it by cutting interest rates. But what happens when rates are already near zero…
What Is Quantitative Tightening (QT)? Imagine a central bank’s balance sheet as a giant reservoir of liquidity. During a crisis, the central bank may flood the financial system with money…
Why are we satisfied by “good enough?” Why “Good Enough” Often Wins We like to imagine that people make decisions by carefully weighing every option and choosing the best one….
Early pregnancy can transform ordinary smells—meat, coffee or cooking vegetables—into instant nausea. One evolutionary hypothesis suggests that this misery once functioned as a protective alarm. Pregnancy sickness usually intensifies during…