Abhishek Chakraborty (Page 18)

Code of Hammurabi: How Disincentivising Bad Behaviour Reduces Corruption

Incentives backfire when there are no negative consequences for those who exploit them. When you align incentives in both positive and negative ways, you create a balanced system that takes care of itself.

A Scientific Way to Call BS on Someone’s Argument

Predicting the past a pseudo-intellectual’s job. It doesn’t matter if you are right or wrong in your prediction, because there’s no way to empirically verify your claim.

Falsification: How to Make Your Ideas and Opinions Stronger

We all are plagued by lots of hidden biases when it comes to making decisions or sheltering beliefs. All of that can be put in check if you adopt the falsification method.

How to Make Small Bets and Win Big

In my previous article, I talked about the benefits of running small experiments, and taking small bets—where you control your downside, but expose yourself to massive upsides. If you start small, get your feet wet, and test things out without becoming too invested in a decision, you can tinker alon

How to Invent The Future

Contrary to popular belief, most successful founders don’t begin with brilliant ideas—they discover them. Facebook started as a social network for college students. Pixar started by selling high-end computers for animation. And Twitter was a podcasting company.

Ludic Fallacy: Why It’s a Mistake to Use Games to Model Real-Life Situations

In your adult life, if you have talked to enough people, or have attended few conferences and keynotes, you must have heard people starting a sentence with, “Like in a game of chess,” or “Think of it as a game of poker.” Analogies are helpful in communication, but life is neither a game of chess, no

If Ambition Spells Probable Disappointment, Why Pursue Excellence?

How do you deal with failure? We all have a habit of saying, “It’s OK,” or “It doesn’t matter.” I’ve done the same whenever I’ve met with failure. Turns out, it’s not the best way to cope with failure. It’s a lie you tell yourself to let you feel that this failure didn’t get to you. In most cases, f

Mindsets: Is Talent Like a Hard Piece of Rock, Or Like a Stretchable Muscle?

Researchers have done extensive studies on the effects of one’s approach to learning on her ability to attain mastery. Dr. Carol Dweck—a leading researcher in this field who wrote the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success—makes the distinction between fixed and growth mindsets. People with fix