Priya Chandrasekaran
Behavioral Science WriterTrained in cognitive psychology, obsessed with the gap between what people think they do and what they actually do. Her work will make you question your own brain.
Articles by Priya Chandrasekaran
Expert Taste Buds Lie: How Wine Experts Get Fooled by Food Coloring
A classic study shows wine experts confidently misdescribe red wine dyed white, proving even trained professionals trust their eyes over their taste buds.
We May Have Already Reached the Limit of How Long Humans Can Live
After a century of steady gains, life expectancy has stalled in wealthy nations. Scientists suspect we've hit a biological ceiling that medicine alone can't break through.
Why People Turn Down Better Jobs Just to Avoid Admitting They Were Wrong
Behavioral economics reveals a stubborn truth: we often sabotage our own careers rather than face the psychological sting of admitting a previous choice was a mistake.
Chewing Wood Actually Rewires Your Brain—Here's Why
A South Korean study found that mastication of wooden sticks triggers glutathione release in the brain, protecting neurons from oxidative damage. Your ancestors might have been onto something.
Baby Birds Have a Critical Weather Window—And Climate Change Is Narrowing It
A 60-year study reveals that extreme weather doesn't hit all young birds equally: cold kills chicks in their first week, but rain becomes deadlier as they grow. The real killer? When both strike together.
Simpson's Paradox: Why Adding Up the Numbers Can Make Them Lie
A statistical phenomenon reveals how combining data can reverse the truth entirely. Men appeared to have an admission advantage at UC Berkeley—until researchers looked closer.
Your Midlife Behavior Is Already Sealing Your Fate
A Stanford study found that simple behaviors like movement and sleep patterns in midlife can predict lifespan with surprising accuracy—and the divergence happens earlier than aging researchers expected.
Science is Mostly Happy Accidents
A massive study of 1.2 million biomedical papers reveals that 70% of published research finds something nobody predicted. Your image of the scientific method is probably wrong.
The Pirahã Have No Words for Numbers—and They Don't Need Them
The Pirahã language of Brazil contains zero number words, yet speakers manage complex spatial reasoning and trade. It's proof that math doesn't require linguistic scaffolding.
Your Brain Speaks a Language Grammar Never Taught You
Linguists spent decades studying rigid grammatical rules, but your brain is actually fluent in the messy statistics of everyday speech—and it learns patterns that aren't grammatical at all.