Irrational, yet predictable
How human thinking works - and where it stumbles
Drawing on behavioral sciences and cognitive psychology, four events guide the audience through the mechanisms that lead us to believe falsehoods, misread reality, and build intuitive yet misleading explanations of the world around us.
From the cognitive processes underlying climate‑change denial to the allure of superstition, from Murphy’s Law to the judgment errors hidden within pop‑culture narratives: each encounter shows that irrationality is neither random nor a sign of stupidity, but the result of universal mental shortcuts—automatic, deeply human, and surprisingly predictable. Through concrete examples, live experiments, and moments of interaction, the series invites us to recognize these errors not to judge them, but to understand them—and, above all, to understand ourselves.
Because when we hear hoofbeats, we tend to think of horses, not zebras. And understanding why we do that is the first step toward navigating a complex, uncertain world filled with misleading information.
In collaboration with Non è la Zebra.
Mind and Climate: how the brain misleads us about climate change
- Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 21:00 - 22:30
In this talk, we will explore how certain thinking patterns shape our perception of climate change, engaging the audience in a series of cognitive‑psychology experiments and showing why reflecting on our own thoughts is difficult, but necessary.
The science of superstitions: why we believe the un‑believable
- Tuesday 5 May 2026 at 21:00 - 22:30
According to surveys, even the most skeptical people on the planet, even those who never believed in Santa Claus, have believed in some form of superstition at some point in their lives. But what exactly is superstition? Through the recreation of cognitive‑psychology experiments, and with the audience’s participation, we will try to answer this question.
If anything can go wrong, It will: the psychology of Murphy’s Law
- Tuesday 19 May 2026 at 21:00 - 22:30
Even though the worst doesn’t always happen, being prepared can save us from unpleasant, or even dangerous, situations. In this talk, we will explore the psychology of Murphy’s Law, the cognitive mechanisms that shape our perception of it, and the strategies that allow us to use this tendency to our advantage without giving in to anxiety.
The behavioral science of How I Met Your Mother
- Tuesday 26 May 2026 at 21:00 - 22:30
What can Barney Stinson’s often absurd theories teach us about the human mind? More than you might think. How I Met Your Mother is a small behavioral‑science laboratory disguised as a sitcom, packed with psychological and social dynamics that have become iconic. In this talk, we will explore how, behind the characters’ jokes and running gags, we can find real cognitive experiments in disguise.
