Something You Should Know

Why Nothing Has an Instruction Manual Anymore & How People Really Change Their Mind


Listen Later

People seem to get sadder in winter. Is it the weather? Is it just because it’s colder? Or is it the sunlight? This episode begins with the explanation of why more people get into bad moods this time of year. https://www.medicaldaily.com/seasonal-affective-disorder-happiness-actually-linked-sunshine-study-finds-403569

Computers and other electronic devices used to come with huge instruction manuals. Not anymore. We live in an age of “user-friendly” machines that don't need instructions. What’s so interesting is that the whole concept of the “user experience” is really traceable back to a specific point in time and it wasn’t all that long ago. Cliff Kuang is a user experience designer and author of the book User Friendly: How the hidden rules of design are changing the way we live, work, and play (https://amzn.to/37T1Vi0). Listen as he explains the evolution that has gone from teaching people how to use complicated machines to making complicated machines easy for people to use.

Everyone loves a log fire on a cold winter’s night. But does it really keep you warm? And what about the pollution it causes? Listen and discover some interesting facts about log fires. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-10-06/business/0010060120_1_furnaceor-boiler-chimney-heat

We spend a lot of time either trying to change people’s minds or listening to other people trying to change ours. Often it isn’t very successful despite the rational and reasonable arguments we all use. So you have to wonder if there is a better way. And you also have to wonder if it is worth trying to change someone's mind in the first place. Eleanor Gordon Smith has researched this and written a book about it called Stop Being Reasonable: How We Really Change Our Minds (https://amzn.to/2R9OxQQ). She joins me explain the fascinating results of her research on why changing your mind and my mind is so amazingly difficult. 

This Week’ Sponsors

-Simplisafe. For huge holiday savings and a free HD security camera to www.Simplisafe.com/something

-Article Furniture. For $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more go to https://www.article.com/sysk

-Capterra. To find the best software for your business for free go to www.Capterra.com/something

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Something You Should KnowBy Mike Carruthers | OmniCast Media

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

4,151 ratings


More shows like Something You Should Know

View all
TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

21,926 Listeners

Stuff You Should Know by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff You Should Know

78,689 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,823 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,232 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,641 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,661 Listeners

Stuff To Blow Your Mind by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff To Blow Your Mind

5,674 Listeners

BrainStuff by iHeartPodcasts

BrainStuff

1,651 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

12,127 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,463 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,589 Listeners

No Stupid Questions by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

No Stupid Questions

3,626 Listeners

People I (Mostly) Admire by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

People I (Mostly) Admire

2,036 Listeners

Unexplainable by Vox

Unexplainable

2,310 Listeners

The Economics of Everyday Things by Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

The Economics of Everyday Things

1,639 Listeners