mind traps

“In driver’s training we were taught to identify our visual blind spots and eliminate them with the help of mirrors and sensors. In life (...) we need to learn to recognize our cognitive blind spots and revise our thinking accordingly”

from Think Again by Adam Grant

baja

Best practices are rarely the best — they're mostly just cargo cult common practices.

And as more people adopt them, the more mediocre they become.

The best is usually what most people aren't willing to do.

Jason Fried • Tweet

cargo cult

One of the most concerning notions for science communicators, fact-checkers, and advocates of truth, is the backfire effect; this is when a correction leads to an individual increasing their belief in the very misconception the correction is aiming to rectify. There is currently a debate in the literature as to whether backfire effects exist at... See more

Searching for the Backfire Effect: Measurement and Design Considerations

backfire effect

“Hope clouds observation.”

― Frank Herbert, Dune

Dune Quotes by Frank Herbert

The rule of reframing can look different depending on what you're dealing with. But it always involves seeing a problem from a different angle, with the goal of breaking a cycle of harmful thoughts and behavior.

Justin Bariso • Emotionally Intelligent People Use the Rule of Reframing to Change Their Perspective, Think Differently, and Reduce Anxiety

reframing

It makes sense that constant comparison makes us unhappy. I think back to a study I read a few years ago. When passengers board an airplane and walk through first-class on their way to their seats, passengers are then more likely to engage in acts of air rage and aggression than when they board from the middle of the plane. Subtle reminders of our... See more

Musicto Mail

Rumination is the focused attention on the symptoms of one's mental distress. In 1998, Nolen-Hoeksema proposed the Response Styles Theory .[1][2], which is the most widely used conceptualization model of rumination. However, other theories, have proposed different definitions for rumination. For example, in the Goal Progress Theory , rumination is... See more

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema • Rumination (psychology)

The term “cognitive biases” is arguably misleading in that it suggests that believing truth would be a kind of default. Arguably, it’s amazing that we manage to believe the truth at all. If you want your beliefs to be accurate, you’re constantly swimming against your own biology and instincts.Broadly speaking, I think we can identify three reasons... See more

dynomight • Effectiveness beats accuracy

If you want your beliefs to be accurate, you’re constantly swimming against your own biology and instincts.

Collaboration and reciprocity are natural, and yet in the world we inhabit, competition and the fear of scarcity often block us from seeing these ways of being with one another.

Lynne Twist • The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life

fear of scarcity

Occam’s broom is used to describe people’s tendency to sweep relevant facts “under the rug.” No doubt you’ve experienced Occam’s broom in an argument before — when the other person simply refuses to engage with a fact you’ve laid out in favor of your side.