What Wikipedia’s Success Reveals About Trust & Are We All Too Fearful?
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Why is the common advice to stick with your first answer on multiple‑choice tests actually wrong?
Today on Something You Should Know, why the most common test-taking advice you hear is completely wrong. Then, some great insight into trust from the founder of Wikipedia, which runs entirely on trust. The lessons that
I've learned through Wikipedia, the lessons of my career about trust, like how do you build trust when people inherently start off saying, oh, this is crazy, like anybody can edit anything. That sounds completely insane. And why would I trust
that? Also, clever ways to help you look taller and the fascinating science behind why many things we fear the most we really shouldn't. Air travel, serial killers, even terrorism.
I mean, terrorism, especially international terrorism, is a problem so minuscule that it statistically approaches zero. You are literally more likely to be killed by your lawnmower.
All this today on Something You Should Know. A big thank you to today's sponsor, Vinted. I think most of us have what I call someday clothes. I'll wear that someday. That'll fit better someday. Someday I'll have a place to wear that. Meanwhile, it's been hanging in the closet for three years. Vinted offers another possibility. Sell it. Every day, people can sell clothes they're no longer wearing and make some extra money. And they've made the process pretty painless. Take what you don't wear, list it on Vinted. Listing is quick and simple. And when an item sells, Vinted creates the prepaid shipping label for you. And importantly, there are no seller fees on Vinted. So when you sell something, you keep everything you earn.
I like this whole idea because instead of clothes just taking up space, somebody else gets to wear them and you get some money out of the deal. Your closet looks better, too. I mean, everybody wins, even the closet. So maybe it's time to stop waiting for someday. Download the Vinted app for free and start listing with no seller fees so you keep everything you earn.
How does Wikipedia manage to stay accurate and trusted despite being editable by anyone?
Something you should know. Fascinating intel. The world's top experts. And practical advice you can use in your life. Today, Something You Should Know with Mike Carruthers.
You know, my mother was a teacher. First, she was a nurse and then she taught nursing for several years. And I remember she used to tell her students and she used to tell me that when you take a test and you're not sure about your answer, go with your first answer. But is that really good advice? That's what we're going to start with today. Hi, and welcome to this episode of Something You Should Know. We've all heard the advice that when you take a multiple choice test and you're not sure, go with your first answer. Teachers, test prep books, my mom have repeated that for generations. And it sounds reasonable. After all, your first instinct should be your best, right? Well, no, that turns out to be not true.
A large body of research covering seven decades of studies shows that test takers who reconsider and change their answers actually tend to end up with higher overall test scores. Psychologists have looked at thousands of exams, from classroom tests SAT-style tests, DMV-type quizzes, and over and over again the same pattern appears. When people actually change an answer, they're far more likely to switch from wrong to right than from right to wrong. So where does this trust-your-first-instinct myth come from and why does it persist? Well, it's because of something called the first instinct fallacy. It's a mental bias we all share. When we change a correct answer to a wrong one, it sticks in our memory.
We feel regret and we remember it. But we tend to forget all the times we've changed answers that actually helped us. In other words, we remember the emotional sting of being wrong more vividly than the quiet success of being right. So experts say the best strategy during a multiple-choice test is to mark any question you're unsure about, move on, and come back later with a fresh perspective. And that is something you should know. Chances are you've looked up something recently on Wikipedia. We all have. It is the largest collection of knowledge in human history, and it is built entirely by volunteers.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is the common advice to stick with your first answer on multiple‑choice tests actually wrong?
0:02–2:17
2
How does Wikipedia manage to stay accurate and trusted despite being editable by anyone?
2:17–7:14
3
What does Jimmy Wales say trust looks like in building a global encyclopedia?
7:14–12:46
4
Why are humans born with only two innate fears and how do we acquire the rest?
12:46–18:23
5
How does media amplification create the ‘Mean World Syndrome’ and distort our perception of danger?
18:23–23:42
6
Why do modern parents over‑protect children even though statistics show we’re safer than ever?
23:42–28:11
7
What simple clothing tricks can make you look taller and more confident?
28:11–34:28
8
What are the key takeaways about trust, fear, and practical advice from this episode?
34:28–44:15
Speakers
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