When British researchers adorned a flight of stairs in a shopping mall with the instruction “Take the Stairs, ” it turned out that shoppers actually did. Over the course of three weeks, the number of people who chose to take the stairs increased by 190%, despite an escalator nearby. What gives? On a rational level, we know that exercise is beneficial. But our decision-making tends to be a chaotic process guided by intuition, unconscious bias and time pressures. On top This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Four Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 43 Paapa Essiedu The British stage star steps onto a new platform. Arts & Culture Issue 43 Amia Srinivasan Amia Srinivasan on the philosophy of sex. Arts & Culture Issue 43 David Erritzoe On the mind-bending potential of psychedelics. Arts & Culture Issue 43 Space Invaders Room dividers from a Roman studio. Arts & Culture Issue 43 Study: Tricks of the Mind The cognitive processing errors that shape us all. Arts & Culture Issue 43 Happy Medium In praise of average.
