Effectiviology is a site dedicated to learning about science and philosophy you can use.
If you’re just starting out here, here are a few recommendations for some of the best articles in the the most popular categories:
- Mental performance. A good article to start with is the guide to debiasing, which explains how you can reduce the cognitive biases that affect you and others. Other good recommendations are the article on how self-distancing can help you make more rational decisions, or how you can teach yourself to be more creative.
- Logical fallacies. Start with the guide to logical fallacies, which explains the anatomy of logical fallacies. Then, read about strawman arguments and ad-hominem attacks, which are the most common fallacies that you will encounter.
- Social psychology. Read about the confirmation bias and the backfire effect, which are the most important cognitive biases to be aware of when it comes to persuasion, and about the spotlight effect and the illusion of transparency, which are the most important cognitive biases to be aware of when it comes to your self-confidence.
- Practical philosophy. Start with Hanlon’s razor, which is a great example of a philosophical principle that you can use to improve your everyday life. Then, check out the article on Stoicism, which has a list of principles that can help you find balance and control.
- Productivity. Start with learning about the 80/20 rule, which is one of the most important principles that you can use when it comes to increasing your productivity in every area of life. Then, take a look at other useful concepts, such as Parkinson’s law and Good Enough is Good Enough.
- Optimal learning. Start by reading about the stages of learning and the factors that determine success at learning, which will teach you how the learning process works. Then, take a look at other useful topics, such as interleaving.
Tip: if you want to just get the key takeaway points from each article, scroll to the bottom where there is a section called “summary and conclusions”.
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