The gambler’s fallacy is the mistaken belief that if an event occurred more frequently than expected in the past then it’s less likely to occur in the future (and vice versa), in a situation where these occurrences are independent of one another. For example, the gambler’s fallacy can cause someone to mistakenly assume that if …
Writing is a skill. This means that, just like any other skill, you can improve it through active practice, despite the fact that many people mistakenly believe that their writing ability depends only on their natural talent. In the following article, you will see what you can do in order to improve your writing, …
Debiasing is a process through which the influence of cognitive biases is reduced, generally with the goal of helping people think in a more rational and optimal manner. Debiasing is usually accomplished through the use of various debiasing techniques, that can work on any number and type of cognitive biases. For example, when it comes to …
A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from rationality, which occurs due to the way our cognitive system works. Accordingly, cognitive biases cause us to be irrational in the way we search for, evaluate, interpret, judge, use, and remember information, as well as in the way we make decisions. For example, one …
Hanlon’s razor is the adage that you should “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”. Applied broadly, this principle suggests that when assessing people’s actions, you should not assume that they acted out of a desire to cause harm, as long as there is a reasonable alternative explanation. For example, …
A loaded question is a trick question, which presupposes at least one unverified assumption that the person being questioned is likely to disagree with. For example, the question “have you stopped mistreating your pet?” is a loaded question, because it presupposes that you have been mistreating your pet. This type of fallacious question puts …
The humor effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to remember information better when they perceive it as humorous. For example, when students are taught a new concept in a humorous way, such as through a funny story, they’re generally more likely to remember that concept, compared to if it was taught in …
Learned helplessness is a state of mind where someone believes that they are unable to act effectively, especially when it comes to avoiding negative outcomes, following their past experiences. For example, if a student tries hard at school but keeps failing, they can develop learned helplessness and decide to give up on their studies, …
Rosy retrospection is a cognitive bias that causes people to remember past events as being more positive than they were in reality. For example, rosy retrospection could cause someone to remember their childhood years as being more joyful than they actually were. Declinism is the belief that a certain entity, such as a country …
The Gish gallop is a rhetorical technique that involves overwhelming your opponent with as many arguments as possible, with no regard for the accuracy, validity, or relevance of those arguments. For example, a person using the Gish gallop might attempt to support their stance by bringing up, in rapid succession, a large number of …