The 80% experiment

Here’s a fun thing to try out. Next time you’re in one of those conversations where everyone is trying to set the world to rights, say: “The trouble with the world is that 80% of the people in it are thick!”

What you’ll inevitably find is that the person/people you are talking to will agree with you, every single time. But nobody will ever consider that they might be in the 80%.

This works best if you’re in a group with four other people (it has to be four). Make the statement and then wait for everyone to nod and agree. I’ll bet you none of the 80% will pick up the implicit insult in what you just said.