Tag

science

Entries tagged with science - exploring this theme across cognitive biases, logical fallacies, mental models, and more.

14 concepts

Appeal to False Authority

Using an expert's opinion as evidence when they have no relevant expertise - fame and credentials aren't the same thing.

Arguing that something is good because it's natural, or bad because it's artificial - as though nature is always benign.

Claiming that something must be true because it hasn't been proven false, or false because it hasn't been proven true.

We give disproportionate weight to the opinions of people we perceive as authorities - even outside their expertise.

The obligation to provide evidence rests with the person making the claim - not with the person questioning it.

We seek out information that supports what we already believe, and ignore what doesn't.

Digital amnesia is forgetting what we let our devices remember for us. The 'Google effect', why it happens, and what it costs.

The less you know about something, the more confident you're likely to feel about it.

Treating two things as equally valid or important when they clearly aren't.

Drawing a broad conclusion from too few examples - treating a small sample as though it represents the whole picture.

Every model, theory, or description of reality is a simplification - useful, but never the whole picture.

When you have competing explanations for the same thing, the simplest one - the one with the fewest assumptions - is usually right.

Assuming that because one thing happened after another, the first thing caused the second - confusing sequence with causation.

Extreme results tend to be followed by more average ones - not because of any intervention, but because that's how variation works.