Cognitive Bias - Abhishek Chakraborty

Black Swan Bias: Rare Events Don’t Happen Everyday

There’s wisdom in the saying, “Lightning never strikes (the same place) twice.” Black Swan events maybe rare but the distortions caused by them don’t disappear for a long time.

True Lies: How Statistics Fools Us

When an ad says 80% of dentists recommend Colgate, what do you assume? Do you believe they asked ~1,000 dentists out of which 800 recommended Colgate, or do you think they asked 10 out of which 8 recommended Colgate?

Invisible Rules

Our thoughts and decisions have a set of taken-for-granted assumptions behind them. These are the Invisible Rules that guide us. Unless we uncover them, it’s almost impossible to understand what’s driving our decisions, and what are the flaws, if any, in our logic and thinking.

Conformity: Why Everything Popular is Wrong

No matter how rational you are, consensus is hard to resist. Even if you choose to stick to your guns in the beginning, you are bound to capitulate at the end. It’s hard to look like a bozo for a long time, especially when you are the only bozo in the room.

Einstellung Effect: When Prior Knowledge Harms Performance

During creative problem-solving, prior knowledge and experience can enhance performance by efficiently guiding us towards solutions that worked in the past. However, prior knowledge can also harm performance if the problem requires a novel solution.

Action Bias: Why Waiting and Watching Is Torture

Do Something Syndrome is the outcome of our tendency to always do something by intervening when, in fact things should be left as they are. This bias is a mix of a lack of patience and a strong desire to intervene without thinking, or considering the possibility of a downside.

The Benjamin Franklin Effect: Why It’s Better to Ask For a Favour Than Do One

He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged. The better way to build rapport is to ask for a favour rather than doing one.

The Just-World Fallacy: There is No ‘Just’ Plan For The World

Do you believe in karma? Then you most likely believe that one day all the good karma you are generating will lift you higher up in the social hierarchy to join the others who have what they deserve.