In my mind’s eye, I shoot the TV or radio Elvis Style whenever I hear the phrase “wind chill” come out of either. To understand why, first you have to understand what wind chill is all about. Here is the definition courtesy of Wikipedia:
Wind-chill or windchill, (popularly wind chill factor) is the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of air.
Did you catch the part about “exposed skin?” Unless you venture out of the house bare naked in the middle of winter, wind-chill is almost meaningless. Your nose and face may care a bit, but the other 95% of your body that is covered up couldn’t care less.
Why has this become so popular then? Consider these two weather reports:
- Rational (non-existent) weather person: It is 21 degrees at 7am this morning.
- Actual weather person: With the windchill, it’s NEGATIVE 27 out there! AHHHHH!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES FOLKS!!!!!!!!!!
Just a minor difference, eh? The people on the TV who guess at what the weather is going to be are playing on the negativity bias of our brains. What is negativity bias you ask? Back to Wikipedia again:
Negativity bias is the psychological phenomenon by which humans have a greater recall of unpleasant memories compared with positive memories. People are seen to be much more biased to the avoidance of negative experiences.
Very simply, when presented with information, we tend to focus on the worst. If you’re walking down the street and you see a guy with a delicious pie and another guy waving a knife, you’re not going to be focusing on the treat.
On an evolutionary level, it makes sense for the brain to have this disposition. It’s all about survival. Avoiding the lion on the Savannah (or Mr. Knife Psycho) is much more important than looking at a pretty flower.
However, negativity bias also weakens us by scaring us into bad decisions. It causes us to believe ridiculous conspiracy theories tossed out by AM radio talk show hosts. It makes us spend lots of money on products that we perceive will make us safer:
- Buy a gun!
- You will die if your car has less than 387 airbags and weighs less than 5000 pounds!!
- Get a home security system!!!
- You need a billion dollars worth of life insurance or your loved ones will starve when you die in a horrific knitting accident!!!!
However, this concept doesn’t just apply to the weather, avoiding a stabbing and not dying in a violent car crash. I see it pop up in the mainstream financial media as well. With the exception of when the Mr. Money Mustache breaks into the news, we’re treated to ridiculous stories all the time that play on our fears. There are no shortage of people telling us we need millions and millions to retire. I notice that lately, fear-mongers are telling us that the markets are going to drop by 50% any moment. Who cares. Think long term and everything will be OK.
What to do about it?
You have the most amazing machine right between your ears. Use it to evaluate information and make your own decisions. I never understood why people like being told what to think. I’d rather see the facts from all sides and then come to a conclusion using my very own neurons. Once you let some AM radio clown or a commercial tell you what to believe or how to live, they own you. No thanks. I’d rather think for myself. MMM himself sums it all up very well in this comment.
Avert your eyes
One other thing, it’s far to cold to go outside without a hat, much less naked. When June arrives though, watch out neighbors! Put on your sunglasses so you’re not blinded by my bright white torso! In the meantime, make sure you tell the Weatherfool what he can do with his wind chill.
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I really need to stop watching the news on TV and listening to it on the radio while driving to work. The main stream media does focus on negative stories. I guess that’s what gets the ratings. I listen to the radio for the traffic, and then I hear stories of crime in the area, the blistering cold/snow (well it has been a harsh winter), and about how many points the stock market dropped.
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply recently posted…Are We Overworked?
May I suggest podcasts? There are so many great ones. I’m digging Bigger Pockets right now.
That bias has got to be one of the most common drivers of our mistakes. I know I am loss averse, and this is probably why: I’m more scared of the bad than I am allured by the good. I convince myself the consequences of that philosophy aren’t too dire, though. Financially, it’ll take me longer to reach FI than someone who is gutsy and has a 100% stock allocation. Still, I’m going to reach FI like, 20 or 25 years earlier than the average guy. So, it’s not optimal, but it’s not, you know, terrible, either…right?
Done by Forty recently posted…The Psychology of a Tax Return
I struggle with the same every day. Right now, I do almost have a 100% stock allocation and I’m not digging it. However, having cash on the sidelines is also a risk. Peer lending will be where a lot of future money goes…
Living in North Dakota (especially this winter) I always say, “Any day without wind is a beautiful day.” I notice that ‘wind chills’ don’t seem to be too accurate in estimating how cold it feels until the air temp drops below zero. At that point if there’s wind your face wants to fall off within a couple minutes.
Big Guy Money recently posted…The Shopping Horde
Canadians are in the midst of a financial institution led RRSP panic right now. Articles and interviews pretending to be financial information but that are really just commercials for banks reminding you that you are running out of time to make the RRSP deposit deadline and encouraging you to borrow to invest so you can get a tax return.
I will stay out of my bank for the next few days as the panicked masses buy in to mutual funds using advances on their new HELOCs. Investing is something to be done slowly and carefully over the year not standing in a line to you sign up for something because you have run out of time to invest.
Fed up with winter and wind chills. There is a huge line of snow squalls headed my way and it is -12 Celsius with increasing winds.
jane savers @ solving the money puzzle recently posted…Rich Folks Hiding Money
Yes! I’ve noticed the same thing — that and ads for lines of credit. I also notice they don’t push TFSAs as retirement vehicles, though I’ve read a couple articles now suggesting people start to build a tax-free future income stream in a TFSA.
I’m rethinking my plan this year.
Can anyone tell me why we aren’t using Celsius for temp? IT MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE! FREEZING – 0 Boiling – 100 boom easy instead of 32 and 212
Evan @ My Journey to Millions recently posted…I May be a Landlord by Year’s End
I’m a scientist at heart, so I fully support your metric desires.
I love how the Weather Channel gives goofy names to snowstorms now. Here in NY we have a name for them, too: Winter. I can’t recall the last time the hype actually matched the severity of the storm.
Why don’t more people recognize that these talking heads are profiting from keeping them on edge all the time?
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Profit, exactly! Sometimes, I listen the AM radio wackos for entertainment purposes only. The commercials crack me up: Buy GOLD before the US collapses! Blah, blah, bullshit!!
We had a classic overhyping of a storm just before winter in the UK. Panic buying and everything! It hit in the middle of the night and lasted about 6 hours. We have since then had far worse storms consistently for about 2 months, which to be fair has received some deserved media attention.
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This winter hasn’t exactly been pleasant, with all the snow, wind and sub-zero temperatures. Aside from the weather, I was being asked how lucky I was today. I put down a 9 on a scale of 10 without giving too much thought. Even though the weather has horrible, I was given the chance to stay inside. Extremely lucky!!!
Mrs Y recently posted…Life is too Short to be Anything but Happy
I like your attitude. The dark times just make you appreciate the good times that much more. It’s cold now, but we’re all going to be going nuts when the first 70 degree day arrives.
My sister usually texts or calls me in a panic when she hears the next winter storm is coming. I usually try to calm her down but she really gets alarmed after watching the local weather predictions. Though I do like to watch the news and weather everyday just to be informed and prepared. I agree that some weather and news people like to exaggerate and people panic and start running off to the supermarket to buy everything in site!
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A wonderful sentence: “You have the most amazing machine right between your ears.”
We are inundated with information
And anyone who publishes information intended something with it.
It is up to us to decide what is important for us and what does not!
Better less than more!
Best regards
D-S
Dividenden-Sammler recently posted…Dividendenzahlung von HCP
Thanks DS; so much BS here in the states. I hope thing are better in Germany!
One of my friend feels the same way about “black ice” as you do about wind chill!
The best part about cord cutting has got to be how selective I get to be with my news intake. I don’t have the news on in the background so I treat myself to financially-focused podcasts or short segments on various channels via Hulu. It keeps the fear-mongering at bay! And I think like you, it’s a long-term game.
Broke Millennial recently posted…Why Losing $1,000 Per Year is a Big Deal
I mainly get my news from Google News. It’s an aggregator, so I hope that I’m seeing stuff from all different sources.
Señor 1500:
Great topic as most are…perhaps it was your rig with the “Flush Rush” bumper sticker I saw the other day? 😉 I’ve been guilty of adpoting the Freudian saying “Just because it appears that everyone is out to get you…doesn’t necessarily mean that they are NOT.” Living a finacially free existence may help with my negativity/paranoia.
LOL at horrific knitting accident! I agree there tends to be a lot of ‘alarmist’ advertising that makes people buy into things that aren’t necessary. Some are over the top (2k scare, anyone?), but sadly people get fooled into them.
anna recently posted…The Great Ball and Chain Acquisition (or, I’m Married!)
If the wind is blowing you are going to feel colder outside no matter what. The more it blows the colder you’ll feel. Putting on clothes doesn’t make cold go away, it just reduces it’s effect. Quit whining about wind chill factors. They make a difference in how being outside in the cold feels.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=windproof+jacket
Mark, your reply is a great example of what I’m trying to illustrate in this post! I know you didn’t like my comments about wind chill, but the whole point of the post was that people tend to focus on the negatives over the positive. You focused on one thing that you didn’t like and threw it back in my face instead of trying to get something positive out of it.
Seriously, try to be happy. I don’t mind constructive criticism at all, but being so negative isn’t going to help you at all long term.