mind traps

the fallacy of “we tried that, didn’t work” via dhh:

no logical fallacy provides as much of an obstacle as “we tried that, didn’t work”. The fallacy that past failed attempts dictates the scope of what's possible.

That just because someone, somewhere, one time attempted something similar and failed, nobody else should try. That lowering our collectiv

That sort of error is called “statistical bias.” When your method of learning about the world is biased, learning more may not help. Acquiring more data can even consistently worsen a biased prediction.

The fundamental problem with an information cascade is that after a certain point it becomes rational for people to stop paying attention to their own knowledge—their private information—and to start looking instead at the actions of others and imitate them. (If everyone has the same likelihood of making the right choice, and everyone before you ha

Another aspect of the unconscious is that it will always seek out the path of least resistance.