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

A rational decision-maker would simply ignore the bad options and keep waiting for the neutral-to-good ones. Alas, humans are prone to availability bias, so each additional bad option can go to your head. Instead of waiting, you’ll be tempted to lower your standards.

Cassie Kozyrkov • How I navigated my biggest career transition

the brain is commonly regarded as a thinking machine, but it’s more often the opposite: a machine that tries to circumvent thinking. This is because cognition costs time and calories, which in our evolutionary history were scant resources.

a machine that tries to circumvent thinking

The trouble with error is that we have a natural tendency to dismiss it. When Kevin Dunbar analyzed the data from his in vivo studies of microbiology labs, one of his most remarkable findings was just how many experiments produced results that were genuinely unexpected. More than half of the data collected by the researchers deviated significantly

Steven Johnson • Where Good Ideas Come From

“The trouble with error is that we have a natural tendency to dismiss it.”

But thanks to Zeigarnik’s follow-up research, we also know that we don’t actually have to finish tasks to convince our brains to stop thinking about them. All we have to do is to write them down in a way that convinces us that it will be taken

Sönke Ahrens • How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking

Zeigarnik effect

But just as there are reasons why these design patterns won out, we shouldn't let survivor bias blind us to their inherent tradeoffs. The next wave of social startups should learn from the weaknesses of some of these choices of our current social incumbents

Eugene Wei • And You Will Know Us by the Company We Keep

survivorship bias

Even though it isn’t necessarily true, people equate having choices with having control.

Susan Weinschenk • 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

I am giving you a choice (this or that) so don’t complain, you have control

“If you can’t decide, pretend you’re deciding for a friend.” Solomon’s paradox is a robust finding that we're better at solving other people's problems than our own, because detachment yields objectivity. But research has found that viewing oneself in the 3rd person yields the same detachment and objectivity. So if... See more

the paradox of choice

The spotlight effect is what happens when we imagine that our lives are performative, or “on display” for others to consume.

Brianna Wiest • The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery

spotlight effect