Astounding Facts About Mental Behavior, Part II

Dentists Named Dennis



Dentists are frequently named Dennis. Disproportionately so. Notice the poetic name-resemblance. Most illogical, Captain. A career-choice based on similar sounds ?? It seems ridiculous, but it's a statistical fact. The unconscious brain controls a huge part of decision-making. Perhaps the unconscious is a superstitious puppeteer. Or else a marketing genius -- could small ironies of similar sounds offer "soft sell" charm to future clients? Um, maybe.

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Booze protects the brain from dementia in later life. This could be due to its anti-inflammatory properties, or the fact that social drinkers are more...well, sociable. Keep in mind that this benefit applies to moderate drinkers. Alcoholics are another matter.



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Marketing and suggestion affect our human taste buds. According to studies, higher-priced wine tastes better than identical cheaper wines. Consumers are also susceptible to other mind-altering gimmicks: color, bottle shape, etc. Ice cream packaged in circular tubs is preferred over ice cream in box-shaped containers. (It often costs more, too.) Placebo, anyone?



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As you step further and further away from these two faces, each expression appears to change places. Calm becomes angry, and vice-versa. (Talk about two-faced....)



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What's in a name? Plenty, if it's part of an email address. A German study confirms that personality traits can be inferred from emails like Hula-Hoop-Queen@yahoo.com and Prof_Jones@hotmail.com. Correctly-guessed characteristics include traits like openness, narcissism, agreeableness, etc.

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Finally, in this parting tribute to Darwin, a neuro-scientific truth...




...From Mind Bluff