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Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 6205393" data-attributes="member: 2067">Modern science tells us it is a big deal. When the supposed absurdity of this is brought up, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/business/economy/27view.html?_r=0" target="_blank">this is my go-to link</a>, becuase it's a decent media's-eye-view on how insanely powerful this phenomenon actually is in practice. 12% vs. 99% -- or even 35% vs. 60% -- is a dramatic shift. This isn't nothing. That isn't insignificant, trivial, or easily handwaved. Simply changing opt-out to opt-in results in a huge change in actual human behavior. According to Science.Yeah, it's counter-intuitive. You wouldn't expect checking a box to be that big of a deal. You wouldn't expect changing a monster's keyword or ignoring the word "archon" in its description to be that big of a deal, either. But as far as Science can tell is, it is. Heck, I'll quote right from a <a href="http://www.dangoldstein.com/papers/JohnsonSteffelGoldstein_MakingBetterDecisions_HealthPsych.pdf" target="_blank">related paper by the some of the same psychologists where they tease out some of the reasons this might be</a>:So it's a big deal. Says guys who've spent a lot more time on this topic than me. Whether or not it should be or common sense would tell you it is, it is. I don't think it's rational or reasonable to pretend that this doesn't happen in the world of D&D when it happens in situations that can literally save lives. If all that's functionally stopping someone from donating an organ is checking a box, you can bet that a game that doesn't make explicit and intentional its opt-in nature is certainly going to stop someone from changing their Medusa around. Hope that helps elucidate the actual magnitude we're talking about, here.</blockquote>

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