Why We Misjudge Ourselves and Others Why do we mispredict how much our emotions influence our behavior? Imagine you’ve just finished a big dinner. Someone asks: “Do you think you’ll…
A “Promise” Sends Your Word Into the Future When you make a promise, you linguistically send something ahead of you. The word entered English through Old French promesse, from Latin…
Why do our past experiences prevent us from reaching the best possible outcome? When Experience Makes You Blind Experience usually helps us solve problems faster. But sometimes, it does the…
The Latin word māter means “mother.” Its genitive form is mātris, which is why many English descendants use mater-, matr-, or matri-. Here are some of the most interesting ones:…
The Latin pater means “father.” It produced the stems pater-, patr-, and indirectly patron- in English. Here are some important descendants: Word Origin / Literal idea Modern meaning Paternal paternus…
Most mammals cool themselves mainly by panting, seeking shade or reducing activity. Humans possess another remarkable option: we can cover nearly our entire bodies with watery sweat. As sweat evaporates,…
A “Restaurant” Was Originally Something You Ate Today, a restaurant is a place where food is served. Originally, however, it referred to the food itself—especially a broth believed to restore…
The word “millionaire” still sounds exclusive, but in the United States, being worth $1 million is far more common than many people realize. According to the UBS Global Wealth Report…
One of the most important ideas in investing is also one of the most confusing at first: When bond prices rise, bond yields fall. When bond prices fall, bond yields…
Why do we fail to accurately gauge our own abilities? When Knowing Less Makes Us Feel More Certain Imagine someone watches three videos about investing and suddenly feels ready to…