Friends - 219

Friends! Who are they? What are they good for? How many friends do you have/need/want? This week's episode tackles the nature of friendship! And it all came about because of a meme I happened to come across. I shared the meme. It touched people's souls. They shared and commented on the meme. Turns out friendship is a delicate and complicated topic/feeling. My friend Dan was especially moved by the topic. As he explored the idea of the meme, and saw that other people could also relate, he began to suspect that perhaps the statement is so general, it could apply to anyone. So, also in this episode, we talk about the Barnum effect! Barnum Effect, also called Forer Effect, in psychology, the phenomenon that occurs when individuals believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them (more so than to other people), despite the fact that the description is actually filled with information that applies to everyone. The effect means that people are gullible because they think the information is about them only when in fact the information is generic. The Barnum Effect came from the phrase often attributed (perhaps falsely) to showman P. T. Barnum that a “sucker” is born every minute. Psychics, horoscopes, magicians, palm readers, and crystal ball gazers make use of the Barnum Effect when they convince people that their description of them is highly special and unique and could never apply to anyone else. So, sit back and relax. Shawn and Paul and Dan are about to regale you with an exciting topic. Friends. Friendship. If you have any thoughts on the topic we would love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] This week's podcast promo: Flopcast, Dr Geek's Vaccine PSA