Which sounds larger: 1900 or 1,900? A study on spending habits highlighted ways shoppers are swayed by the written and spoken impact of different prices. It turns out that leaving out commas (1900 versus 1,900 or “nine-teen hundred” versus ”one-thousand nine hundred”) appears to be more attractive and persuasive to potential customers.
The data revolution is exposing ways people are not always rational, a Bloomberg article says. Economists used to assume that people made rational choices but the glut of information now available reveals “systematic flaws in reasoning that often get people into trouble”. An example: people have a hard time committing to difficult things in the future – such as going to the gym and saving for retirement.
Melbourne is the most liveable city in the world in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest liveability rankings, moving ahead of Vienna and Vancouver . Mid-sized cities in countries with a low population density score highly thanks to low crime rates, good facilities and well-functioning infrastructure.
