A placebo is something, such as a substance or procedure, that has no inherent ability to directly produce an effect of interest, but which can nevertheless produce this effect indirectly, generally through a psychological response. Most commonly, the term “placebo” is used in the medical context, to refer to an inert substance (e.g., a …
The credentials fallacy is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone dismisses an argument by stating that whoever made it doesn’t have proper credentials, so their argument must be wrong or unimportant. For example, if a person raises concerns about a political policy, someone using the credentials fallacy might dismiss those concerns without addressing …
The false-consensus effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate how much others are like them, in terms of sharing things such as their beliefs, values, characteristics, experiences, and behaviors. Essentially, this means that the false consensus effect leads people to assume that others are more similar to them than they actually …
A deadline is a point in time by which something must be done. Deadlines can be implemented by and for various types of entities, such as individuals and companies, and in various types of domains, such as school and the workplace. Deadlines can be beneficial in various ways, so it’s worthwhile to understand how …
Net positive occurs when an entity has an impact that is more positive than negative overall, generally in a specific domain. Net positive can apply to various entities, such as individuals and organizations, and to various domains, such as the environment and social relationships. For example, in the context of the environment, net positive …
A false authority is someone whose supposed authority in a certain domain is substantially flawed, generally because their credentials or expertise are irrelevant, dubious, insufficient, or missing entirely. For example, an actor who promotes a medical product despite having no medical training can be considered a false authority, because they lack relevant credentials or …
The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that causes people to fail to properly understand the perspective of those who do not have as much information as them. For example, the curse of knowledge can mean that an expert in some field might struggle to teach beginners, because the expert intuitively assumes that …
Strategic dominance is a state in game theory that occurs when a strategy that a player can use leads to better outcomes for them than alternative strategies. Accordingly, a strategy is dominant if it leads a player to better outcomes than alternative strategies (i.e., it dominates the alternative strategies). Conversely, a strategy is dominated …
The value-action gap is a phenomenon where people act in a way that’s inconsistent with their values. Accordingly, the value-action gap occurs when people act in a way that contradicts or fails to support their values. For example, many people display a value-action gap when it comes to environmental issues, because even though they …
The burden of proof (“onus probandi” in Latin) is the obligation to provide sufficient supporting evidence for claims that you make. For example, if a politician claims that a new policy will lead to a positive outcome, then the politician has a burden of proof with regard to this claim, meaning that they need …