Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive

"There are three times as many dentists named Dennis as any other names. Number of Florences living in Florida is disproportionately high, same goes for Louises living in Louisiana."

This is interesting, but it proves nothing. Of all the possible names and vocations, of course you're going to find at least one combo with a disproportionate number. Perhaps the "Dennis/Denist" combo has more to do with the popularity of that name coinciding with a growth in the numbers of professional dentists.

Similarly, with names and states, you're going to find some overlap. Know any young people named "Florence"? Know where retirees move to? And perhaps people living in Louisiana are more likely to name their kids something similar to the state name than the other way around.

I'm toying with the idea of starting a blog that highlights abuses of statistics and misunderstandings of probability in the press. They drive me nuts!

The point about how giving away a product causes it to lose perceived value and seem less desirable is a good one: I wonder though how this translates to web-based products since so much of this ecosystem is defined by free services.

"When employees were offered a choice of 2 funds, roughly 75% signed up for a retirement program. When the number of funds was increased to 59%, even though qualitatively this was a better deal for employees, only 60% decided to sign up."