209. Why Do We Settle?

No Stupid Questions

Why does the U.S. use Fahrenheit when Celsius is better? Would you quit your job if a coin flip told you to? And how do you get an entire country to drive on the other side of the road?

• SOURCES:
  • Christian Crandall, professor of psychology at the University of Kansas.
  • Stephen Dubner, host of Freakonomics Radio and co-author of the Freakonomics books.
  • Scott Eidelman, professor of psychology at the University of Arkansas.
  • David Hume, 18th century Scottish philosopher.
  • Ellen Langer, professor of psychology at Harvard University.
  • Steve Levitt, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago, host of People I (Mostly) Admire, and co-author of the Freakonomics books.
  • John McWhorter, professor of linguistics, English, and comparative literature at Columbia University.
  • Mark Twain, 19-20th century American writer.

• RESOURCES:
  • "What Countries Use the Imperial System?" by William Harris and Sascha Bos (HowStuffWorks, 2023).
  • "UK Quietly Drops Brexit Law to Return to Imperial Measurements," by George Parker (Financial Times, 2023).
  • "Heads or Tails: The Impact of a Coin Toss on Major Life Decisions and Subsequent Happiness," by Steven D. Levitt (The Review of Economic Studies, 2021).
  • "A ‘Thrilling’ Mission to Get the Swedish to Change Overnight," by Maddy Savage (BBC, 2018).
  • "Why We Can’t Quit the QWERTY Keyboard," by Rachel Metz (MIT Technology Review, 2018).
  • "Why Americans Still Use Fahrenheit Long After Everyone Else Switched to Celsius," by Zack Beauchamp (Vox, 2015).
  • "The Intuitive Traditionalist: How Biases for Existence and Longevity Promote the Status Quo," by Scott Eidelman and Christian Crandall (Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 2014).
  • "What Scientific Concept Would Improve Everybody's Cognitive Toolkit?" (Edge, 2011).
  • "Mars Probe Lost Due to Simple Math Error," by Robert Lee Hotz (Los Angeles Times, 1999).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Would You Let a Coin Toss Decide Your Future?" by Freakonomics Radio (2013).
  • "The Upside of Quitting," by Freakonomics Radio (2011).