Hiding the Facts with Occam’s Broom
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...
What are Mental Models?
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...
How to Sharpen Your Mind with Occam’s Razor
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...
How Cognitive Dissonance Fights Reason with Reason
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...
Hyperbolic Discounting: Why Do We Make Irrational, Impulsive Decisions?
Sometimes it feels like your heart and your brain are two different decision-makers. Your heart makes irrational, impulsive decisions, and your mind is the logical decision-maker. Sometimes the two come together to make for wildly inconsistent decision-making behavior.
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