Could poor weather affect job interview performance? Shutterstock

Dear Dan,




Ask Ariely

Have a dilemma for Dan? Email him at


In your mind, your mood was connected to everything around you, which made you uncomfortable about everything you experienced—including, unfortunately, the interview. Assuming that you don't have a perfect poker face, your feelings must have been apparent to the interviewer, and your overall appeal went down.

Though I suspect that both the weather and the book contributed to your negative mood, if I had to guess I'd vote for the book as having the larger impact. For your next interview, take a funny book with you, and with a thick marker write on your underwear "I am the best." Both of these methods of preparation should put you in a good mood and improve your chances. Good luck.

Dear Dan,

Are there people who are just lucky? I think so—only I'm not one of them.



On top of that, if you notice the successes of other people and don't pay much attention to their failures, you will basically see the absolute number of successes and not notice the percentage of successes.

So, what's the advice? First, life is a numbers game—so try more frequently. Second, it's good to look at the number of things that other people attempt—not just their successes.

Dear Dan,

In one of the chapters of "The Upside of Irrationality" you suggest a canoe ride as a good indicator of the success of a future relationship, since it often gives one person plenty of opportunity to blame the other for things that go wrong. Here is the question: Would it matter that one of the participants knows it's a test?



Like most tests in life, the canoe trial works best when the people in question don't know they are taking part in a test. Tests make us feel that watchful eyes are on us, so we try to put on our best behavior. If your loved one knows about it, the test is not valid.


Maybe if you persuaded your significant other that you have some "Ariely Romantic Ratings Machine" installed in your house, your domestic life will improve. Perhaps you should start a company to provide such a service?