If you can smell it, you’ll probably trust it more than the invisible thing that could actually kill you.
The Senses Deceive and Decide For Us
We are heavily influenced by the things we can sense - touch, smell, see, hear, taste - but we often choose to ignore the invisible, even when we are aware of it and know it can be harmful.
Trust the Stink, Ignore the Spray
I recently took a trip to Pennsylvania to visit family, and Amish farms surround the area. When they are getting their fields ready for planting, they spread manure, which, if you have never experienced it, has quite the strong and distinct smell.
Every time it happens, a family member of mine complains like crazy. He complains because he can smell the mephitic odor wafting into the house through the windows.
While strong smells do trigger migraine attacks for me, this smell does not bother me, probably because I grew up around it. But also because I know it is something that is good for the Earth.
This same family member is also one who is very quick to use the highly toxic weedkiller, Roundup. Putting the two together, I liken it to the invisible nature of the forces shaping our world that we often ignore in favor of the ones we can sense.
Kahneman talks about the illusion of rational control with selective attention and sensory bias in Thinking Fast and Slow: “We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness.”
The Invisible Threats We Choose to Ignore
From viruses to pesticides, unseen forces often impact us the most, yet we tend to deny or downplay them. Whether it's rejecting masks during COVID-19 or overlooking air pollutants, our senses don't always serve our best interests. But ignorance, especially of the invisible, isn’t bliss; it’s vulnerability.
The Stuff You Don’t Sense Still Drives You
We rely on our senses to perceive and interact with the world and those around us. Yet, there are many things that we cannot perceive, but are still there, influencing our world.
Our brains process far more than we’re consciously aware of. Just because we can’t sense something doesn’t mean it’s not real or powerful. In Blink, Gladwell says, “There can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis.”
We even have the illusion of rational control, yet we are human and full of behavioral blind spots.
We often pretend it doesn’t exist if we can’t sense it, and Ariely’s Predictably Irrational shows how irrational that logic is:
“We usually think of ourselves as sitting in the driver’s seat, with ultimate control over the decisions we make and the direction our life takes; but, alas, this perception has more to do with our desires—with how we want to view ourselves—than with reality.”
How to Sell the Invisible (Without Sounding Like a Scam)
- If people can’t see it, smell it, or touch it, they’ll probably doubt it. That goes for your offers, your value, and your impact.
- So: Make the invisible obvious. Show the ROI. Tell the story. Bring receipts.
- And check yourself too; just because it doesn’t feel off doesn’t mean it isn't.
- Sensory bias isn’t just psychology, it’s strategy.
Ponder This
- What invisible forces might be shaping your decisions, without you even realizing it?
- Are there things you resist simply because you can’t see or feel them?
Books
- Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
- Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
- Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely
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