WHAT IS IN-GROUP OUT-GROUP BIAS AND WHY YOU IDENTIFY WITH YOUR FOOTBALL TEAM When I was a child, a typical wintry Sunday looked like this: my family sat in front of the TV watching a ski race. My parents cheered for the Swiss skiers and wanted me to do the… Read More »What is In-Group Out-Group Bias?
What is Falsification of History? Any why you were right all along Winston Smith, a frail, brooding, 39-year-old office employee, works in the Ministry of Truth. His job is to update old newspaper articles and documents so that they agree with new developments. His work is important. Revising the past… Read More »What is Falsification of History?
What is False-Consensus Effect? And the myth of Like-Mindedness Which do you prefer: music from the 1960s or music from the 1980s? How do you think the general public would answer this question? Most people tend to extrapolate their preferences on to others. If they love the 1960s, they will… Read More »What is False-Consensus Effect?
What is Domain Dependence? And why knowledge is non-transferable Writing books about clear thinking brings with it many pluses. Business leaders and investors invite me to give talks for good money. (Incidentally, this is in itself poor judgement on their part: books are much cheaper.) At a medical conference, the… Read More »What is Domain Dependence?
WHAT IS THE BLACK SWAN AND HOW TO PROFIT FROM THE IMPLAUSIBLE ‘All swans are white.’ For centuries, this statement was watertight. Every snowy specimen corroborated this. A swan in a different colour? Unthinkable. That was until the year 1697, when Willem de Vlamingh saw a black swan for the… Read More »What is The Black Swan?
WHAT IS NOT-INVENTED-HERE SYNDROME AND WHY YOU CAN’T BEAT HOME-MADE My cooking skills are quite modest, and my wife knows it. However, every now and then I concoct a dish that could pass for edible. A few weeks ago, I bought some sole. Determined to escape the monotony of familiar… Read More »What is Not-Invented-Here Syndrome?
WHAT IS PRIMACY AND RECENCY EFFECTS AND WHY FIRST IMPRESSIONS DECEIVE Allow me to introduce you to two men, Alan and Ben. Without thinking about it too long, decide who you prefer. Alan is smart, hard-working, impulsive, critical, stubborn and jealous. Ben, however, is jealous, stubborn, critical, impulsive, hard-working and… Read More »What is Primacy and Recency Effects?
WHAT IS SOCIAL COMPARISON BIAS AND WHY WE TAKE AIM AT YOUNG GUNS As one of my books reached number one on the bestseller list, my publisher asked me for a favour. An acquaintance’s title was on the verge of entering the top ten list, and the publisher was convinced… Read More »What is Social Comparison Bias?
What is Alternative Blindness? And why it’s never just a two-horse race Alternative Blindness is the tendency to systematically refuse to compare outcomes to the next best alternative. Instead, we tend to compare it to the worst alternative – to make a stronger argument for the current outcome. Here’s an… Read More »What is Alternative Blindness?
WHAT IS SLEEPER EFFECT AND WHY PROPAGANDA WORKS During World War II, every nation produced propaganda movies. These were devised to fill the population, especially soldiers, with enthusiasm for their country and, if necessary, to bolster them to lay down their lives. The U.S. spent so much money on propaganda… Read More »What is Sleeper Effect?
