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Sep 20, 2022

Our brain is a ‘prediction machine’ that responds to and interprets reality based on what we expect. This is the claim of science writer David Robson and, this week on The Mind Tools Podcast, Ross G, Owen and Nahdia plan to exceed your expectations by discussing it in our book club. 

We discuss: 

  • examples of the ‘expectation effect’ in action 
  • the strengths and weaknesses of Robson’s argument
  • how we can experiment, personally, with managing our expectations. 

During the discussion, Ross referenced the Freakonomics episode ‘I Don’t Know What You’ve Done With My Husband But He’s a Changed Man’: freakonomics.com/podcast/i-dont-know-what-youve-done-with-my-husband-but-hes-a-changed-man/ 

In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Owen recommended Bob Sutton (@work_matters) on Twitter, and specifically his Tweet about the ‘feedback sandwich’: twitter.com/work_matters/status/1565064130574241793?s=46&t=z7JQmmhA9bhpOPtQuc1RLQ 

And Ross discussed the shortest day for 40 years, June 29: theguardian.com/science/2022/aug/01/midnight-sooner-earth-spins-faster-shortest-day 

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To take advantage of our special offer on a Mind Tools Membership, visit: mindtools.com/september-subscription-sale  

Mind Tools enterprise customers can hear our exclusive interview with David Robson, author of The Expectation Effect, as part of their toolkit. If you're not already a customer or subscriber, you can listen to an excerpt in our blog:

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