Occam’s Broom is a play on Occam’s Razor. The term is used to describe the process of sweeping away inconvenient facts when they oppose your view. The term was created by microbiologist, Sydney Brenner, to describe what happens in heated scientific debates. Scientists are often heavily i...
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Mental models are tools we use to understand the world and inform our decisions. They help us think outside the box with an eye for the future. It’s not about raw intelligence or even how smart you are. It’s about having the right mental tools to help us make complicated decisions and think...
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Occam’s Razor is a mental model that helps us choose an explanation when there are competing theories. In a nutshell, it claims the theory with the least assumptions is usually the correct one. This mental model is named after William of Ockham, a 14th century friar and philosopher. Occ...
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Everyone would like to think of themselves as rational, forming their views from all the facts in an unbiased way. But this is almost never the case. It is possible to hold two conflicting beliefs at the same time. The psychological term for this is cognitive dissonance. But cognitive dissonance...
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Depending on the point in time a reward is received, humans value them differently. Humans are impatient by nature in the short-run. Humans become more patient over the long-run. Hyperbolic discounting makes for inconsistent decision-making. Hyperbolic discounting can affect your personal an...
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Consequences of the consequences. Increase your chances of success. Expect the unexpected. Avoid major pitfalls. First order thinking is superficial and relies on immediate gratification with quick results. Second order thinking is more complex, taking into account the endless ripple effects of...
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What Are First Principles? Independent Logic. Something that stands on its own. Constantly questioning why. First principle thinking has been used by the greatest creative minds to come up with inventions and solutions. It’s what inventors and scientists use to come up with ideas t...
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Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived from 470-399BC. He never published his views so everything we know about him is from three primary sources: Aristophanes, Xenophon, and Plato. In his book, Theaetetus, Plato describes how Socrates would use disciplined questioning to assist his disciples to...
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