Drunk Tank Pink

… and other unexpected forces that shape how we think, feel and behave.

By Adam Alter

We like to think we are cleared headed beings. That are behavior, our choices, are ground with  good reasons. Alter argues that in ambiguous situations, any little bias can make a difference. Ambiguous situations occur far more often than we'd like to admit.

The presence of other people makes us more competitive.

The absence of other people makes us more reflective.

Labels take on a life of there own. Alter mentions that Russians can describe and identify shades of blue more accurately than Americans. This is because Russia has distinct words for light blue, blue and dark blue. In America identifying the shade of blue is left to judgment. In Russia there is a right and wrong.

The Muler Lyer lines… That illusion only works in WEIRD cultures (Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democratic.) Cultures that don't live around strong hard lines don't see the illusion.

People with easy to remember, fluent to say names are more successful that people with hard to remember or disfluent names.

See the circular effects here? A label, or a quirk of culture, affects my abilities. Not like a placebo, but in a real way. When we use those abilities, depend on them, then they take on a life of there own.

I believe the core of the book. I'm a little worried about the validity of much of the science. I don't know how many of the sited studies have been replicated.