The IFOD
The Interesting Fact of the Day Blog
The Fundamental Attribution Error
The Fundamental Attribution Error explains a lot about how we view ourselves and others. There are two parts to it: We view other's actions as a reflection on their personality or who they are as people. Thus, if someone wrongs us, we view them as bad, mean, selfish,...
Dogs Defecate in Alignment with Magnetic Poles!
Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that is generated deep down in the Earth’s core. This magnetic field is very important to life on Earth as it protects us from dangerous solar and cosmic rays. Many species show awareness of the Earth's magnetic field, for...
Why is the Mona Lisa So Famous?
The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world. So, when my wife and I visited the Louvre years ago we of course decided to see the Mona Lisa. The room in which it was contained was packed and we had to wait in line for a long time until we were able to view...
Hofstadter’s Law and the Planning Fallacy
Source: xkcd.com In his book Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas Hofstadter discusses the particularities of estimating how long it would take to complete a computer program. In his observations about the difficulties in estimating the completion...
Interviews Don’t Work
Over the course of my career, I've conducted hundreds of interviews. I'd like to think I'm a good judge of character and that what I learn in interviews helps me make good hiring decisions. But, if I'm honest with myself, I have to admit I'm biased. I like confident...
The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two
In 1956 George Miller published one of the most famous papers in the history of psychology titled The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information. In the paper, Dr. Miller described the phenomenon of us being able to...
Who Is More Famous Than Jesus?
Who is more famous than Jesus? Clue: It's not the Beatles. The MIT Media Lab, via a project named Pantheon, has analyzed Wikipedia pages and number of page views to determine the most famous people in history. As a threshold, to be considered famous enough to be...
The Lindy Effect
What is the projected life expectancy of the Great Wall of China? Which of the following great books do you expect will still be in print and widely known in 100 years: A. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (nearly 2,000 years old) B. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen...
Can a Mouse Survive a Fall From a High-Rise?
Can a mouse survive a fall from a high-rise? Probably. In a fantastic essay from 1928 the biologist J.B.S. Haldane famously explained: You can drop a mouse down a thousand-yard mine shaft; and, on arriving at the bottom, it gets a slight shock and walks away, provided...
What Would Have Killed You 100 Years Ago?
In many respects, the present is best time in history to be alive as a human (not the case for other species). Why? One reason is Spotify. Another one is that many of us wouldn't be here if not for modern medicine. We don't appreciate how sick and miserable we used to...
The Friendship Paradox
I am intrigued by paradoxes and came across a very interesting one called the Friendship Paradox which states: On average, your friends have more friends than you do. How can this be true? Its a function of the attributes of social networks. According to the MIT...
What is the Difference between a Meteor, Meteoroid, Meteorite, Asteroid & Comet?
An asteroid is a rock that orbits the Sun. Most asteroids are found in the asteroid belt, which is between Mars and Jupiter. Some asteroids are found outside the asteroid belt and their orbits can take them close to Earth (yikes!). How big does a rock need to be in...
Get in Touch
Want to book John at your next event? Or, do you have a question for him, a topic you'd like him to explore on his IFOD blog, or just want to say hey? Reach out here, he responds to all inquiries (although it might take some time—he gets a lot of fan mail).
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jjennings[at]archbridge.com
