The Skeptics Guide to the Universe

Are You Your Friends’ Friend? Poor Perception of Friendship Ties Limits the Ability to Promote Behavioral Change

Persuasion is at the core of norm creation, emergence of collective action, and solutions to ‘tragedy of the commons’ problems. In this paper, we show that the directionality of friendship ties affect the extent to which individuals can influence the behavior of each other. Moreover, we find that people are typically poor at perceiving the directionality of their friendship ties and that this can significantly limit their ability to engage in cooperative arrangements. This could lead to failures in establishing compatible norms, acting together, finding compromise solutions, and persuading others to act. We then suggest strategies to overcome this limitation by using two topological characteristics of the perceived friendship network. The findings of this paper have significant consequences for designing interventions that seek to harness social influence for collective action.

The Dumbphone Boom Is Real

Kyle Chayka writes about a burgeoning industry that sells low-tech phones, to cater to beleaguered smartphone users who are desperate to escape their screens.

Smartphone Screens Are About to Become Speakers

<p>Piezoelectrics enable displays to provide both high-quality audio and touch feedback</p>