Delicious LiveJournal Links for 7-17-2009

[andrewducker]

• It's called sfdkshfsk ... Stand back!
  If you want people to recognise that a substance is dangerous - give it a complicated, hard-to-pronounce name. That's the implication of a new study that suggests we use a simple rule-of-thumb when judging risk. If something is easy to process and digest - for example, by virtue of being easy to pronounce - we tend to assume that it's familiar and safe.
  (tags: language psychology marketing)
• Refridgerator Kids
  The results of a study into how kids react when put in refrigerators.
  (tags: psychology children research)
• Computer company specifically looking to employ autistic staff
  Specialisterne was started by a Danish man whose own son has autism.
  
  Thorkil Sonne now employs more than 40 people with autism.
  
  He is finalising plans to set up a branch in Glasgow in the coming months.
  
  He hopes to hire 50 workers in the first three years of operating in Scotland.
  (tags: autism business computing employment psychology work)
• Attorney's Million Dollar Dare Comes Back to Haunt Him
  Bets a million dollars that nobody can do what his client is alleged to have done. Someone proves him wrong - and he's refusing to pay up. To the courts!
  (tags: law funny EpicFail)

Comments

[supergee.livejournal.com]

I think a study by someone named Hyunjin Song sounds really scary.

To extend the sfdskhsfk thing...

[endless-psych.livejournal.com]

If you want to start a successful company give it a snappy short name low on syllables. No matter the quality of your product you'll be likely to sell more then competitiors with longer more unwieldy names.

Also make your advertising slogans rhyme.

(I suspect most people will treat this as fairly obvious but the dangerous chemicals thing as interesting. Which, given they are two sides of the same coin, is psychologically quite interesting in itself.

Re: To extend the sfdskhsfk thing...

[khbrown.livejournal.com]

I was wondering about Copernicium: who prints all the new periodic tables, and could this be an additional benefit that goes to the inventors / discoverers?

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

This attorney is dumber than Gary Hart.

[laserboy.livejournal.com]

Isn't that breaking anti-discrimination legislation?

[andrewducker]

I don't know, to be honest. I have a feeling that you can get exemptions in order to help people that have problems getting ordinary jobs, but I'm not an expert :->

[khbrown.livejournal.com]

sfdkshfsk sounds like a command-line disk checking utility IMO.