The Better You Know Something, the Worse You Explain It. Blame the Curse of Knowledge
Tappers expected listeners to name half their songs. Listeners got 1 in 40. The same gap shows up in emails, classrooms and marriages.
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Every Something Navy story is edited and checked against its original sources.
Spilling Your Coffee Could Make People Like You More. There’s One Big Catch
A 1966 experiment found one clumsy blunder lifted a star’s appeal and sank an average performer’s. Here’s what decides which way it goes.
Reading About a Yawn Can Make You Yawn. Here’s What Scientists Have Found
One study made people yawn with a magazine article. Another made them stop with a cold pack. Here is what the evidence really says.
The Spotlight Effect: You Think Everyone Noticed. About Half as Many Did
From a Barry Manilow T-shirt to your face in the corner of a Zoom call, 25 years of research shows how little others clock, and how to dim the glare.
That Unfinished Task Nagging You at Night? Your Memory Isn’t the Culprit
A 2025 review of nearly a century of studies found no memory boost for unfinished tasks, but a 67% pull to go back. Here’s how to quiet it.
The Songs From Your Teens Still Hit Hardest. Your Brain Filed Them Somewhere Special
Spotify data puts the age your taste sets at 13 or 14, and your parents’ records may have sneaked into the same file.
That Cringe Memory From Years Ago Isn’t Random. Your Brain Replays It for a Reason
Unbidden memories surface several times a day. The embarrassing ones sting hardest, and a short self-kindness exercise can take the heat out.
Decision Fatigue: The Hungry Judges Study and the Truth About Willpower
Parole judges seemed to grow harsher as lunch approached. The famous study behind decision fatigue looks shakier under cross-examination.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect Is Real, but Not the Way the Internet Draws It
The famous “Mount Stupid” curve isn’t in the original study. Here’s what Kruger and Dunning actually found, and what statisticians did to it.
The Bystander Effect: Why the Famous Story Is Only Half True
The 38 silent witnesses to Kitty Genovese’s murder were largely a myth. The science of bystanders is more hopeful, and more useful, than the legend.