Irrational Minds & Decisions
This phenomenon occurs when people are presented with too many options, making it harder for them to decide or feel confident in their choice.
What is Choice Overload?
This field of study analyzes strategic decision-making in situations where your best choice depends on what someone else chooses.
What is game theory?
A school placing fruits and vegetables at eye level in the cafeteria line without banning desserts is an example of this positive design intervention.
What is a Nudge?
Often called the powerhouse of the eukaryotic cell, this organelle generates most of the chemical energy needed to power cellular reactions.
What is the Mitochondrion (or Mitochondria)?
Newton's Second Law of Motion is expressed by this simple equation relating force, mass, and acceleration.
What is F=ma?
This concept states that human decision-making is limited by social/emotional factors, personal values, and a lack of perfect information.
What is Bounded Rationality?
In Game Theory, a situation where two or more parties' choices mutually affect each other is called a strategic __________.
This term refers to an unnecessary obstacle or barrier created in a system that makes it harder for people to make a choice or access a service (e.g., hiding a cancel subscription button).
What is Sludge?
In chemistry, a substance with a pH less than 7 is classified as this type of compound.
What is an Acid?
This layer of Earth's atmosphere contains the ozone layer that protects living organisms from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
What is the Stratosphere?
This term describes the mental exhaustion that happens after making many decisions, often leading to poorer or passive choices.
What is Decision Fatigue?
This stable outcome occurs when no player can improve their outcome by changing their decision alone, assuming all other players keep their choices unchanged.
What is Nash Equilibrium?
Manipulative online design choices—such as fake countdown timers or hidden unsubscribe buttons—are collectively known by this two-word term.What are Dark Patterns?
What are Dark Patterns?
This fundamental biological process allows green plants to convert light energy into chemical energy stored as glucose.
What is Photosynthesis?
The phenomenon where a wave changes direction or bends as it passes from one medium into another of different density is called this.
What is Refraction?
Calculated by multiplying probability by financial payoff (Probability×Payoff), this mathematical weighted average tells us whether a risky bet is worth taking.
What is Expected Value (EV)?
When every player's choice is the best possible decision relative to the choices of the remaining players, it is called a "______ response."
What is a Best Response?
This political philosophy aims to help people make better decisions (like automatic retirement savings) while fully preserving their individual freedom of choice.
What is Libertarian Paternalism?
Elements in the periodic table that belong to Group 18, such as Helium and Neon, are known by this name due to their unreactive nature.
What are Noble Gases?
According to the law of conservation of energy, energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be converted from one _____ to another.
What is Form?
This economic principle explains why the first slice of pizza gives you massive satisfaction, but the fifth slice might give you zero or negative satisfaction.
What is Diminishing Marginal Utility?
True or False: At a Nash Equilibrium, every player is guaranteed to get the maximum possible payout regardless of what the other player does.
What is False? (No player has an incentive to unilaterally switch, but it doesn't mean it is the absolute maximum potential payout for everyone).
Using choice architecture to encourage beneficial decisions in a transparent way while respecting freedom of choice is known as _______ Nudging.
What is Ethical Nudging?
This type of chemical bond involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms, typically between nonmetals.
What is a Covalent Bond?
This theory explains the large-scale movement of seven major plates and several minor plates of Earth's lithosphere.
What is Plate Tectonics?