confusion surrounding ‘per capita/
The other day, I was cut off by a car on the highway. The car was traveling at nearly 100 mph.
Was it a Porsche 911 GT3 new or an old Toyota Camry used?
There are over 1,000 Camrys in the world. Our instinct is to choose the answer that’s most vivid and distinct.
Rural areas often have a much higher crime rate per capita (up to five or ten-fold) than most urban areas.
Alaska, on the other hand has a much higher number of millionaires per person than many people think. This is because we underestimated the population and not because there are a lot of millionaires.
The percentage is what counts, not the number. New York City is a very safe city to live in.
Stories resonate regardless of the denominator. We are not attuned by nature to divide what we see into the likelihood that we will notice it.
It is much safer to fly across the country than drive, but it seems intuitively that the opposite must be the case. Peer-reviewed medicine has a much higher chance of curing an illness than anecdotes.
Even though we feel like they’re being seen by many, the average TikTok post or Facebook post has only been seen by a handful of people.
The truth is a lumpy thing. It helps to take a minute and think about where our story comes from.
