In researcher Richard Wiseman's newspaper study, people who rated themselves as luckier found hidden text offering £100 and an instruction to stop counting photos far more often than self-described unlucky people.
Where this was said
At 7:26 · chapter starts 5:10
Mark formally opens Solved, introduces Drew Birnie as co-host, producer, and lead researcher, and frames today's topic. The discussion briefly turns personal as both hosts reflect on whether they consider themselves lucky — Drew answers yes immediately, which becomes a small irony the episode will develop. Mark explains that Napoleon's question to his generals ('are you lucky?') was really a proxy for opportunity-sensing and adaptive thinking, not superstition. The first sponsor read follows: Simple, a virtual health coaching app, pitched through the story of a couple who together lost over 117 pounds.
The widely cited ego-depletion model — the idea that willpower is a finite resource that gets depleted — failed to replicate in follow-up studies.
Humans are estimated to have 5,000–7,000 thoughts per day, yet can recall essentially none of them afterward, highlighting why in-the-moment emotional tracking matters.
A large Harvard study found that a wandering mind is an unhappy mind — people report greater happiness when their attention is tethered to the present, even if the task is unpleasant.
A key study finding that we have a 'credit card's worth of plastic' in our bodies was likely skewed because researchers used nitrile gloves that shed plastic particles onto the microplastic detector.
Emotionally sensitive people have a hyperactive amygdala, an underactive prefrontal cortex, and a frayed connection between the two — making emotional regulation structurally harder.
Rejection sensitivity can be observed as early as age 2 or 3, suggesting it has strong developmental and likely genetic roots.
A Yale study found that non-judgmental observation of emotions — without rushing to resolve them — reduces activation in the brain, making it a powerful regulation tool.
Dan Gilbert's research found that the psychological immune system — the brain's ability to justify and find satisfaction in choices — activates most powerfully when a decision is perceived as irreversible.
Barry Schwartz's research found that maximizers — people who try to optimize every decision — tend to achieve objectively better outcomes but report lower happiness than satisficers who choose 'good enough.'
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