 At an all you can eat buffet,
you pay one price for all
the deliciousness you want.
But if you go in
without a strategy,
you're going to get ripped off.
I'm going to show you how
to get your money's worth
and how to defeat the
evil buffet master
as depicted by my 6-year-old.
[music playing]
An all you can eat
buffet is basically
a game with winners and losers.
Joining me now to show
us the path to victory
is Dr. Teigen Wall.
She's an expert in
neuroscience and game theory.
So Teigen, what kind
of game is a buffet?
 Well Dan, a buffet
is a competitive game.
But it's also what's
called a zero-sum game,
which means if one
side is winning,
the other side has to be losing.
Both sides can
end up better off.
 And in this
case, the two sides
are us, the eaters of
the world, and our enemy,
the evil buffet master.
 You mean your local
restaurant owner?
 OK.
We've set up a real
buffet here in our lab.
Let's see what the research
assistants are doing.
Right off the bat, I'm worried
about Angela's technique here.
This area is what I call the
buffet master's booby trap.
He's going to load up this
area with cheap filler.
Trying to fill your plate
and your stomach before you
get to his crown jewels.
Teigen, what are
you seeing here?
 Well, with a
buffet like this, you
definitely have to be
worried about what's
called the paradox of choice.
Where having more options
makes you less happy
than having fewer options.
 What's the solution to that?
 Go for the things you
know you want first,
and then take a
survey for the things
you might also like second.
 And if the thing
you really want
is rolls and iceberg
lettuce that's fine,
but maybe you
shouldn't be paying
for an all you can eat buffet.
Let's see how Isaac
down here is doing.
I liked that he made it past the
booby trap with a clean plate.
And I also like that his eyes
are scanning the entire buffet
scoping out all the options.
Good work, Isaac.
Katie's taken a very small
amount of many different items.
A sampler plate to start.
That's a great strategy.
Then on the second helping, you
go in for the kill on the items
that you like the best.
 One thing that even Katie
has to watch out for though
is called the framing effect.
See, they've put the meat
and the potatoes together.
And because you
associate the two,
you're more likely to
fill up on the potatoes
even though they're
cheap filler.
 You know Teigen,
one issue at buffets
is how do you get seconds
without waiting in line again?
Especially if you only want a
little bit of a prized morsel
where there's a big crowd?
I have a movie call, the
hummingbird technique.
Find a gap in the
line, hover, and dart.
Well Teigen, we vanquished
the evil buffet master.
Victory never tasted so good.
 It comes with cake.
 Yeah.
High five.
Check out my podcast.
It's called, "The Sporkful."
Subscribe today.
