The credentials fallacy is a logical fallacy which occurs when someone dismisses an argument simply because they believe that the person who made that argument doesn’t have credentials in the field being discussed. This fallacy is frequently used in discussions on various topics, so it’s important to understand it. As such, in the following …
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The false-consensus effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate the likelihood that others think and act in the same way that they do. For example, the false consensus effect could cause extremists to assume that their views are shared by a large portion of the population, in situations where that’s not …
Read moreThe False Consensus Effect: Why People Assume that Everyone Agrees with Them
Deadlines are a simple but powerful time-management technique that can help you become much more productive if you know how to implement them properly. In the following article, you will first learn a bit about the concept of deadlines, and about why using them can be beneficial. Then, you will see guidelines for setting …
Read moreDeadlines: How Effective Time Constraints Can Boost Productivity
Net positive is a philosophy which is based on trying to maintain a positive balance in your life, by doing more good than you do harm and by contributing more than you take. For example, when it comes to your friendships, the net-positive approach means that you should try to help your friends more …
A false authority is an authority figure whose authority is invalid because they either have dubious credentials, irrelevant credentials, or no credentials at all. As such, an appeal to false authority is an argument that states that we should listen to the opinion of a false authority figure, who is framed as a credible …
Read moreFalse Authority: When People Rely on the Wrong Experts
The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that causes people to fail to account for the fact that others don’t know the same things that they do. This bias is most commonly associated with the domain of teaching, where it occurs primarily when experts in a certain field struggle to teach beginners, because …
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Strategic dominance is a state in game theory which occurs when one strategy that a player can use leads to better outcomes for them than all the other possible strategies that they can use, regardless of which strategies their opponents use. Accordingly, a strategy is a dominant strategy if choosing it leads a player to …
Read moreDominant and Dominated Strategies: What They Are and Why They’re Important
The value-action gap is a psychological phenomenon where people act in a manner that is inconsistent with their values. For example, a prevalent value-action gap exists between the way people feel about environmental issues and the way they act when given a chance to address those issues. Specifically, while most people say that they …
Read moreThe Value-Action Gap: Why People Fail to Follow Through on Commitments
The burden of proof is the obligation to provide sufficient supporting evidence for any arguments that you make. Accordingly, the burden of proof fallacy occurs when someone claims that they don’t have a burden of proof with regards to their own arguments, or when someone attempts to shift their own burden of proof to someone …
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Sturgeon’s law is the adage that “ninety percent of everything is crap”. This represents the belief that in general, most of the work which is produced in any given field is of low quality. This principle is a beneficial rule of thumb, since keeping it in mind can help improve the way in which you …
Read moreSturgeon’s Law: Ninety Percent of Everything Is Crap