Here are six things I learned in September, from the trivial to the practical.
1. The London Fog (a latte made with Earl Grey tea) was invented in Vancouver. (In Scotland they call it a Vancouver Fog).
2. I actually can exercise before breakfast. Since I usually wake up hungry I thought this was impossible, but I’ve now decided that getting my exercise done before all the kids are up is ideal.(If I could just get enough sleep to make getting of bed easier…)
3. When Nicolas Cage started in Hollywood he changed his last name from Coppola to Cage to avoid the appearance of nepotism (director Francis Ford Coppola is his uncle).
4. UNESCO has a Memory of the World Register that lists library and archival holdings of universal value (similar to the list of World Heritage Sites).
5. The Diderot effect — I’m simplifying here — occurs when a new possession makes your old things look bad and leads to spiraling consumption.
6. The sunk cost fallacy is the irrational behaviour of holding onto something or continuing an activity because we have already invested in it. I wonder if knowing the name for this behaviour can help me avoid it. (See also: Parkinson’s Law)
It’s so gratifying to have actual names for the ‘Diderot effect’ and the ‘sunk cost fallacy’. I seem to be familiar with both!