Spoiler Alert: Stories Are Not Spoiled by 'Spoilers'
Many of us go to extraordinary lengths to avoid learning the endings of stories we have yet to read or see plugging our ears, for example, and loudly repeating la-la-la-la, when discussion threatens to reveal the outcome. Of book and movie critics, we demand they not give away any plot twists or, at least, oblige with a clearly labeled spoiler alert. We get angry with friends who slip up and spill a fictional secret.
But were wrong and wasting our time, suggests a new experimental study from the University of California, San Diego. People who flip to the last page of a book before starting it have the better intuition. Spoilers dont spoil stories. Contrary to popular wisdom, they actually seem to enhance enjoyment.