Mental Error - Abhishek Chakraborty (Page 2)

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.

Inside View: Why This Time It’s NOT Going to be Different

We focus on a problem by using information that is close at hand. We make predictions based on our unique set of inputs. The more closely we know a problem, the more confident we are. This is wrong!

25 Common Logical Fallacies That Sway You From Winning Arguments

People knowingly and unknowingly engage in bad reasoning—especially in meetings and arguments. Here’s a list of common logical fallacies that would help you arm yourself against false arguments disguised to look good.

Oversimplification: There Are Hidden Risks Inside Quick And Easy Solutions

People often oversimplify things to sound good or make their ideas easily comprehensible. It’s common in professions where they are rewarded for perception, not results. Just because something sounds simple, or just because a lot of people subscribe to it, doesn’t make it right.

Cargo Cult Science: When You Follow The Instructions But Don’t Understand The Process

Cargo Cult Science looks like science, and follows all the basic traits of a scientific experiment. But it blindly copies instructions without understanding them, confuses correlation and causation, and is overtly focussed on outcomes without having clear fundamentals.

False Choice: Should You Optimise For Speed Or Quality?

“It’s either this, or war.” When a politician says something like this, people go crazy. “War?! OMG! if those are our only choices everyone better get onboard with whatever this is, pronto!” In the above quote, “this” is usually a proxy to get anything accepted, no matter how absurd, as long as it i

You Don’t Understand Probability

Let’s say you are considering putting money into a bet of $1,000. It’s a coin toss. The expected outcome of the bet, i.e., the probabilities of each payoff multiplied by the dollar values at stake is $1,000 (i.e., 50% x $0 + 50% x $2,000). Can you visualise owning $1,000?