Parsimony is a guiding principle that suggests that all things being equal, you should prefer the simplest possible explanation for a phenomenon or the simplest possible solution to a problem. For example, if you hear barking from inside your house, and you own a dog, it’s more reasonable to assume that you’re hearing your …
People often care more about proving that they’re right or doing something just because they’re entitled to do it, than they do about doing the most optimal thing that they can. For example, this can happen when someone points out a trivial mistake that their partner made during a discussion, even though doing so …
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 …
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 …
Sturgeon’s law is the adage that “ninety percent of everything is crap”. This suggests that, in general, the vast majority of the works that are produced in any given field are likely to be of low quality. For example, when it comes to books, Sturgeon’s law suggests that 90% of the books that come …
Hanlon’s razor is the adage that you should “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”. Applied broadly, this principle suggests that when assessing people’s actions, you should not assume that they acted out of a desire to cause harm, as long as there is a reasonable alternative explanation. For example, …
The principle of charity is a philosophical principle that denotes that, when interpreting someone’s statement, you should assume that the best possible interpretation of that statement is the one that the speaker meant to convey. Accordingly, to implement the principle of charity, you should not attribute falsehoods, logical fallacies, or irrationality to people’s argument, …
Niccolò Machiavelli was an eminent philosopher and diplomat in the Florentine Republic, between the late 1400s and the early 1500s. His renowned writing on strategy and politics led to the creation of the term Machiavellianism, which refers to the use of cunning and duplicity in statecraft and in general conduct, and he is sometimes …
Marcus Aurelius was an eminent Roman emperor and one of the most influential writers on the topic of Stoicism, which is a philosophy that revolves around seeking virtue in life, without letting yourself be ruled by negative emotions. Aurelius’ writing on Stoicism is best represented in Meditations, a book which is frequently mentioned as one …