We don't notice gradual changes

It's not always easy to spot changes, notice incremental moves, or see trends. Some of us are better at it than others, but it remains a difficult task for us all.

Some of us have noticed this, and are using it to their advantage over the rest.

Q-Tips, then and now

Q-Tips, which as we all know are not for use inside the ear canal, have been around for generations. Their blue box, standard length, high standard quality, and white colour set them apart from knock-off brands of cotton swabs.

Have you ever used one, and thought to yourself, "this isn't as soft and comfortable as I remember?"

I use a Q-Tip every morning as part of my routine. Which means I've used well over 10,000 of them. And yeah, sometimes it feels like they're skimping on the cotton. The handles are always the same, but that soft cottony tip seems to have shrunk! But the marketing (in advertisements and on the packaging) claims the opposite - regularly telling consumers the cotton tip is "20% larger" or "softer than ever".

1999

20 years ago, I set aside a backup bag of toiletries, including 4 Q-Tips. They were sealed in plastic and perfectly preserved, after moving with me various times as I went through life. I found them during my recent move out of Vancouver.

Wow. It was hard not to notice how fluffy the tips appeared to be, and upon use, I was amazed at how soft and comfortable it was. My mind immediately jumped back to another time in my life, as though I could remember exactly how it felt to use a swab that effective and gentle, every day.

When, exactly, did they change from this, to the way they are today? It could only have happened incrementally over years, so that I didn't notice. Indeed, that is how it is done.

Those are literally 3 swabs chosen randomly from my current box. They don't even compare, in their level of comfort and effectiveness. Subjectively, the new ones are only about half as good as the old ones.

I found myself wishing I had put aside in 1999 not 4 Q-Tips, but 4 cases of Q-Tips.

And to be certain the old ones aren't just bigger looking, I weighed them:

1.39g (accurate to within 0.01g) back in 1999.

1.24g today.

In 20 years, despite the manufacturer's claims, the mass of a Q-Tip has dropped over 10%.

_{(And since the stick makes up a large potion of the mass, and has remained constant over the years, the mass of the cotton has actually decreased significantly more - perhaps as much as 40%.)}

You weren't imagining it! And congratulations to you, for being able to spot a trend while caught up in the midst of that trend. Many people simply can't do it. There's no shame in not having this skill, and I'm not trying to imply that anyone is superior for being able to spot patterns and notice trends. It's just how it is.

Those of us who do have that ability are in the minority. Personally, I choose to share my insights with others. Some prefer to keep it to themselves, while still others wield the knowledge to profit and advantage over their fellow man.

Conclusions

The marketers of Q-Tips know most people don't notice gradual changes. They can sell us less every year, while charging us more, and telling us we're getting a better value than ever. And it will just continue like this, too.

And the same goes for a lot of other things. Many of them far more nefarious than how much cotton is put on a Q-Tip.

If you recognize that you're not exceptional at noticing gradual changes and spotting trends before everyone else.... see if you can find somebody who is. If they're willing to share their insights with you, hang on to them.

May you not be misled by incremental changes, and may your swabs always be 20% softer than ever before.

DRutter