The Chatbot That Changes Minds, the World’s Most Discomforting Restaurant and Why We Support Lovable Losers

Dear Fellow Trend Curator,

I’m in Las Vegas this evening in my fourth (and last!) city in a busy week of events that started with conversations about the future of oil, gas and the energy industry in Latin America, moved to talking about how we can empower more women working in healthcare and will close this evening with some coaching sessions here in Vegas for entrepreneurs as part of my Chase Small Business Marketing Tour. We still have Columbus, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans and New York/Queens on the second half of the tour coming up over the next six weeks so if you’re in one of those cities just click on the city to register for free and join us!

In non-obvious stories this week, you’ll read about freeze-dried butterflies, what US state has the worst drivers, a chatbot that could actually change a conspiracy theorist’s mind and why we can’t resist lovable losers.

Enjoy the stories and stay curious!

This Chatbot Could Actually Change Minds … Using Facts?!

The prevailing wisdom about human behaviors and beliefs today is that facts are not persuasive in changing minds or shifting beliefs. Usually, it’s true. That’s one reason why there is so much focus on becoming a better storyteller and why every category from politicians to breakfast cereal marketers primarily relies on stories to connect with people. Stories do work, but a recent study featuring a chatbot called the DebunkBot is challenging this long-held idea as profiled in a recent NY Times article:

“Until now, conventional wisdom held that once someone fell down the conspiratorial rabbit hole, no amount of arguing or explaining would pull that person out. The theory was that people adopt conspiracy theories to sate an underlying need to explain and control their environment, [but] what if debunking attempts just haven’t been personalized enough?

Since conspiracy theories vary so much from person to person — and each person may cite different pieces of evidence to support one’s ideas — perhaps a one-size-fits-all debunking script isn’t the best strategy. A chatbot that can counter each person’s conspiratorial claim of choice with troves of information might be much more effective, the researchers thought.”

Their idea not only worked in about 20% of the cases (an unusually high number), but when those same conspiracy theorists were interviewed 2 months later, they had not gone back to their old beliefs making this an extremely rare case where the results of belief change were not short-lived.

Past research has shown that someone who is accustomed to their family and friends attacking them for their unpopular beliefs will often respond by digging in their heels and doubling down on that same belief. So it’s logical to think they may be more inclined to listen to and even trust an impartial machine. In other words, this could be a situation where AI can do what humans seemingly can’t. Bring someone back from the edge of a conspiracy theory and get them to change their minds.

Can Tech in Cars Make Us More Considerate or Better Drivers?

As part of our Olympics trip this summer, we made a side visit to Lyon and drove across the border to Switzerland. Driving in Europe, one thing that became immediately clear is that drivers there understand the concept of a passing lane. In most places across the US, this seems to be a concept that most American drivers struggle with. Especially in Florida. So I was immediately on board when I read this week about Nissan’s new advanced driver system that includes a feature called “Passing Assist” which will nudge people out of the “fast lane” if they’ve been driving there too long.

Now that we’re talking about going beyond safety warning systems to improving driving manners, there are a few other suggestions they could add (and pilot test in Florida!). It would be nice to have a feature that suggests someone might want to turn off their indicator if it’s been blinking for more than a minute. Or a lock prevention that doesn’t allow you to lock your vehicle and leave if it’s clearly parked in between two parking spots. What other ideas do you have that Nissan could add to their future feature roadmap?

PS – If you’re thinking I’m being unfairly harsh to Florida drivers, don’t blame me. The studies show they actually deserve it. And if you’re one of my readers from Florida, obviously I’m not talking about YOU. I’m trying to help you. 😉

Human Eyeballs, Fake Tongues and Freeze-Dried Butterflies: Inside the World’s Most Discomforting Restaurant

Alchemist restaurant in Copenhagen is the creation of famous Danish chef Rasmus Munk. Like many similarly exclusive Michelin-star worthy dining experiences, there’s a 10,000-person waiting list for a spot at Alchemist and the meal itself will run you $800 per person for 40+ inventive courses. What’s different about this experience is just how committed he is to making food into art … on every level. When asked about his inspiration for a long profile piece written by Rebecca Mead and featured in The New Yorker this month, Munk explains: “If contemporary visual artists and theatre directors are allowed to make their patrons uncomfortable, why aren’t chefs? People talk about chefs being artists, but it’s always within this box of ‘pleasure,’ and ‘you need to be nice,’ there also needs to be a part of disgust in art, and something that challenges you … we’re on the path where we can maybe show that food can be equal to art.”

At one point in the meal, they turn off the lights so that diners can be served “a coconut-and-honeydew concoction that glowed in the dark, courtesy of a powdered extract from bioluminescent jellyfish.” Beyond creating wonder, it’s this discomfort that Munk leans into which makes Alchemist a really unique, and perhaps hard to stomach, dining experience. In one course, for example, there’s a fake gelatinous tongue that you’re encouraged to “french kiss” instead of bite into when it’s served. Some of the more cringe-inducing ingredients that show up in his dishes include deer blood, lamb brains and codfish eyes.

In a telling line from the article that just as well could serve as a useful warning or irresistible review of the experience, depending on your perspective, Mead writes “on only three or four occasions has a diner walked out in disgust.” After reading about this experience, assuming money was no barrier, would you be among those walking out in disgust or would you stay for the experience?

The Surprising Appeal of the Lovable Loser

The Chicago White Sox are having a historically bad season. Like, a season that could be the worst in the history of baseball. It’s so bad even their own social media team is forced to find a way to make the situation slightly better for fans by tweeting entertaining game summaries after losses, like “FINAL: the other team scored more runs than us.” The team, too, is coping with humor because what else can they do? It’s a season they will want to quickly forget.

With their tragic year, though, they are now perfectly positioned to become the baseball team version of a common character archetype from movies: the lovable loser. This character is plagued by a combination of bad luck and a general lack of opportunity. And the more we see this loser suffer, the more lovable they become. So much so, that we find ourselves rooting for them. Being a loser, in other words, is an unusually effective way to win fans.

If you’re a supporter of the team, I’m sure this sucks to watch. But for the rest of us, it’s a fun show. Some want to see if they can redeem themselves and at least get a win or two. Even more may only be watching to see how far into the depths of loserdom they can fall. But the bottom line is, more of us are watching.

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week

Dead Wrong by Dr. Geeta Nayyar

For every new video we see on social media about a miracle remedy, there’s a medical professional who is generally suffering in silence watching the misinformation baked into many of these supposed “cures.” The effects of some can be relatively innocent, like suffering through drinking more glasses of celery juice than necessary. Other online health information can literally have life or death consequences. In Dead Wrong, “Dr. G” (as Dr. Geeta Nayyar is widely known online) lays out the reasons and rationale behind why we have reached this point and what we can do about it.

I’ve seen her speak on this topic live and even shared the stage with her during a panel, and her insights bridge the elusive gap between being medically informed and offering empathy for the misbelievers and why they think the way they do. This book explores what may be one of the most dangerous categories of misinformation and offers a compelling approach for how anyone working in any part of healthcare can help fight back against this problem and help save lives in the process.

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Bookshop.org

About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:
Every week I will be featuring a new “non-obvious” book selection worth sharing. Titles featured here may be new or from the backlist, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great books that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.

Even More Non-Obvious Stories …

Every week I always curate more stories than I’m able to explore in detail. Instead of skipping those stories, I started to share them in this section so you can skim the headlines and click on any that spark your interest:

How are these stories curated?

Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Looking for a speaker to inspire your team to become non-obvious thinkers through a keynote or workshop? 

Watch my new 2024 speaking reel on YouTube >>

This Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter is curated by Rohit Bhargava.

Copyright © 2024 Non-Obvious, All rights reserved.

Get this newsletter directly in your inbox every Thursday! Subscribe here >>