Lone Iguana

Tag: exploit others

  • How to Get Someone to Order A Dish [Screw With People’s Minds]

    Book CoverAt one point in life, you realize that people are not doing what you want them to do. Let’s take, for example, a cook, who slaves over a hot stove for hours, creating dishes that would astound most. But every day, customers order the cheapest meal, perhaps the pasta. This is problem might be solved with a few changes to the menu. Don’t believe it? A recent article featuring William Poundstone discussed what goes into effective menus.

    5. Columns Are Killers
    According to Brandon O’Dell, one of the consultants Poundstone quotes in Priceless, it’s a big mistake to list prices in a straight column. “Customers will go down and choose from the cheapest items,” he says. At least the Balthazar menu doesn’t use leader dots to connect the dish to the price; that draws the diner’s gaze right to the numbers. Consultant Gregg Rapp tells clients to “omit dollar signs, decimal points, and cents … It’s not that customers can’t check prices, but most will follow whatever subtle cues are provided.”

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  • Read This: Predictably Irrational [Screw With People’s Minds]

    Have you ever wanted to know how to sell more of something? Perhaps push a particular product? Well, look no further. Dan Ariely’s book, Predictably Irrational gives you an idea of why people do things. While I am sure the intention of the book was not to exploit people, you can use this knowledge to your advantage. Below is my review of Predictably Irrational for the upcoming blog, Cultureist.

    You probably don’t realize it, but your mind is flawed. Very flawed. Here’s a simple example:

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    In our minds, it seems to show three different sized lines. Now instead of doing a fancy animation on how the lines are all actually the same size, I am going to let you take a good old fashioned piece of paper, and measure each line only to discover- they are all the same length!

    This is just one of the hundreds of flaws contained in your mind. But why on earth would you want to learn how your mind is flawed?

    It is depressing and seems unhelpful. Wrong. While it can be sad to realize this fact, we can learn. We can learn about the flaws in our minds so we can realize how we make decisions and in the future, be aware of bad decision making. This rationality of thinking is talked about a great deal in Dan Ariely’s book, Predictably Irrational.

    One of my favorite things about the book is that it does not ramble on about brain waves and years of careful study, as what you would expect from a psychological book. Instead, it talks about down to earth experiments with interesting conclusions and how it relates to you.

    Still not sure if you want to get the book? Take a look at Dan Ariely’s TED talk:

    Ready to buy? Get Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely here.

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  • Read This: The Tipping Point [Screw With People’s Minds]

    The Tipping Point is so utterly thick with information, that I literally sat down, read the first couple pages and stopped. The rest of the night, I thought, consciously and unconsciously about what it said. So when you read this book, take your time.

    I enjoy reading dense, amazing and psychological books. They can help me figure out why people do crazy, absurd, illogical things. Understanding your actions and the actions of others can help you survive school, work and many difficult, complicated social situations. The Tipping Point is one of those books. Just in the first several chapters you get a sense of why and how trends start and how you can connect to someone across the country.

    This wee bit of information can help you create an internet meme, find a job and understand why Uggs are so popular, despite the name.

    This is another unbelievably great book that should be read slowly, for maximum understanding. Ready to take the plunge? Grab a copy here.

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