tomato effect
n.— «Despite enough evidence, my friend’s neighbour found it difficult to accept that anybody could actually profit from reading such patterns. He suffers from the “Tomato effect.” What is this? In the early 18th century, Americans considered the tomato poisonous despite the fact that Europeans consumed the red fruit and still lived to see another day. Two physicians borrowed this behaviour to the medical world and coined it the “Tomato effect.” James Goodwin and Jean Goodwin found that people rejected treatment for certain diseases because it did not “make sense” in the light of the accepted theories of disease mechanism.» —“Tomato effect” by B. Venkatesh Business Line (India) Aug. 6, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Book recommendations and the art of apology. Martha and Grant share some good reads, including an opinionated romp through English grammar, a Spanish-language adventure novel, an account of 19th-century dictionary wars, and a gorgeously illustrated...
If you’re in a book club, how do you decide what books to read? There are lots of different ways, depending on your group’s goals. And is it ever wise to correct someone who mispronounces a word? Sometimes you have to decide if...