When that happens, we’re likely to ignore the information if it doesn’t fit our preconceived beliefs or use it as evidence if it does. Some statistics don’t cause emotional reactions –⁠ no one gets upset when they hear “Mars is more than 30 million miles away from Earth.” But other issues –⁠ particularly political ones –⁠ easily get a rise out of us. Unfortunately, most people are likely to be fooled in just the same way when presented with information that stirs their emotions. He wanted so badly to believe that Emmaus was a genuine Vermeer that his emotions clouded his logical reasoning. The key message here is: Notice your emotional reactions to data and information.Įmmaus wasn’t even a very good painting, but still, Bredius was fooled. He also said that when he saw the painting, he “had difficulty controlling his emotion.” Unfortunately, Bredius’s heightened emotions were his undoing – because Christ at Emmaus was totally fake. He inspected the painting for all the signs of forgery –⁠ and found none.īredius declared Emmaus a genuine Vermeer, perhaps even his finest work. Bredius was immediately awestruck,⁠ but he was still careful. One day in 1937, a lawyer named Gerard Boon paid Bredius a visit to show him a recently discovered Vermeer painting called Christ at Emmaus. He had special expertise when it came to Johannes Vermeer, the seventeenth-century master revered for works like Girl With a Pearl Earring. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here.Īny changes made can be done at any time and will become effective at the end of the trial period, allowing you to retain full access for 4 weeks, even if you downgrade or cancel.Abraham Bredius was an art critic, collector, and world-renowned expert on Dutch painters. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.

If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for $69 per month.įor cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here.Ĭhange the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting.

Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages.

Tim harford the data detective