Brandolini’s law (also called the bullshit asymmetry principle), is the adage that “the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it”. This denotes that it’s generally much easier to say something without concern for things such as the truth, evidence, or logic, than it is …
My talks help the audience become more effective thinkers and doers, by helping them understand how our minds work. The talks are engaging, and filled with actionable research-based insights, which the audience can immediately start using to improve their life. About me I’m Dr. Itamar Shatz (Cambridge PhD). I help people learn about psychology and …
The post hoc fallacy (from the Latin post hoc ergo propter hoc, meaning “after this, therefore because of this”) is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone assumes that because one event occurred after another, then the second event must have been caused by the first. For example, the post hoc fallacy occurs when someone …
The law of small numbers is the incorrect belief that small samples are likely to be highly representative of the populations from which they are drawn, similarly to large samples. For example, the law of small numbers could cause someone to assume that the way one person behaves necessarily represents the way everyone from …
Crab mentality is a phenomenon where people react negatively when others get ahead. For example, crab mentality can cause someone to discourage or sabotage their friend who is starting to do well at school, because they’re upset about struggling with their own studies. The name of this phenomenon comes from a story about crabs …
Reflective practice involves actively analyzing your experiences and actions to help yourself improve at the things you do. For example, an athlete can engage in reflective practice by thinking about mistakes that they made during a training session, and figuring out ways to avoid making those mistakes in the future. Reflective practice can be …
Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) are interconnected mental states that strongly influence people’s behaviors, often as part of deliberate manipulation. For example, a salesperson could use FUD to convince a customer to buy unnecessary software, by exaggerating potential online risks and making the customer underestimate their ability to handle those risks on their own. …
Chutzpah is the willingness to take risks in a highly shameless and confident manner, that’s often seen as disrespectful or rude. For example, an entrepreneur who’s running a small startup might display chutzpah by calling the CEO of a large company directly, despite having no invitation to do so. Chutzpah can be beneficial in …
The brown M&M’s principle denotes that small details can sometimes serve as useful indicators of big issues. This principle is named after a rock band (Van Halen), who had a “brown M&M’s clause” in their contracts with event organizers, stipulating that the organizers must provide M&M’s in the backstage area, but that there must …
Making decisions is a crucial part of life, but many people struggle to make decisions, in one way or another. Some people, for example, are naturally indecisive, and therefore struggle to make decisions in a timely manner, even when it comes to trivial things, such as choosing what to eat for dinner. Other people, on …