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 …
It can be hard to come up with innovative solutions to various problems. Most people assume that being innovative is a fixed personality trait, meaning that you either have it or you don’t. However, research shows that while personality does play a role in innovative ability, innovation is something that can be learned, even …
The pessimism bias is a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate the likelihood of negative things and underestimate the likelihood of positive things, especially when it comes to assuming that future events will have a bad outcome. For example, the pessimism bias could cause someone to believe that they’re going to fail an …
Brinkmanship is a strategy that involves pushing volatile engagements to the brink of active conflict, with the goal of achieving a positive outcome for yourself. For example, in the context of an important negotiation, brinkmanship could involve telling the opposing party that if they won’t agree to all your demands right now, then you’ll …
Research shows that having plants in areas where you spend time, such as your house and your workspace, can lead to various benefits, such as improving your physical health, contributing to your emotional well-being, and boosting your productivity. Furthermore, despite the fact that plants can be so beneficial, they generally require relatively few resources, …
The appeal to novelty is a logical fallacy that occurs when something is assumed to be either good or better than something else, simply because it’s perceived as being newer or more novel. For example, a person using the appeal to novelty might claim that a certain new exercise plan that a celebrity just …
The Elements of Style, written by Strunk & White, has long been considered one of the greatest books ever published on the art of writing. Time magazine, for example, named it as one of the 100 most influential non-fiction books written in English since 1923, and the Open Syllabus Project consistently lists it as the most …