I learn and look at what is valid or invalid in anything I choose to reflect upon, by comparing it to principles of truth and morality, then I try to figure out what lays underneath its manifestation, and I target the underlying causal forces that produce the effects, manifestations, symptoms or results. Study the effects, manifestations, symptoms or results to […]
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Cognitive dissonance is a warning signal about conflicts in our automatic or willful journey of understanding reality. How we resolve that internal disharmony is another issue. Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive dissonance happens when external information contradicts internal information, or when our own behavior conflicts with how others are behaving. We then feel that conflict, disunity and disharmony. That’s the general broad […]
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What is a principle? What does it mean to live a principled life? Is living a principled life the same as living an examined life? Principle: “origin, source, beginning; rule of conduct; axiom, basic assumption; elemental aspect of a craft or discipline,” Principles are where motives and drives comes from. It’s at the beginning of how we live. Most of […]
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“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” I’m sure many people have heard this, especially those who have initiated themselves into an “awakening” of looking into reality more deeply, possibly getting into “conspiracy” research to uncover the hidden machinations going on in the world. Origin Where does this saying come from? What are the meanings […]
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The Trivium Method is a methodology of learning how to learn and learning how to think, much like other methodologies such as the scientific method. Trivium means three paths or ways, or the place where three roads meet.
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The Benjamin Franklin Effect has recently been proposed as a cognitive bias psychological phenomenon. There is a tendency to continue doing something once we’ve started doing it. This applies to both positive or negative actions. If we do a favor for someone, we are more likely to do another favor for that same person in this case, than to do […]
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The cheerleader effect, or group-attractiveness effect, is a tendency to value appearances based on a comparative assessment with the surroundings. Certain traits will appear more attractive due to the perceived amplification from contrast. When looked at individually they no longer get the contrasting cheerleader effect. Surprisingly, this is a new term, from a 2008 “How I Met Your Mother” episode, […]
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Base rate neglect is the tendency to ignore base general information, in favor of specific (new, novel, attention grabbing) information. The base rate neglect is also known as the base rate fallacy. This bias ties into the previous biases I have covered. Please see the bottom of the post for previous biases. If something is generally understood, novel new information […]
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Something might happen, possibly happen, or even be likely or probable to happen, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. When we assume something will inevitably happen because it could happen, we are engaging in the appeal to possibility or probability fallacy. Something being probable doesn’t prove it as a fact. However, this doesn’t prevent us from making decisions based […]
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The anecdotal fallacy is to use a particular personal or isolated example to attempt to prove a generalized universal conclusion. The anecdotal fallacy is also known as misleading vividness. What is most vivid in our environment and most available (availability heuristic) to us, is what is first used to draw conclusions. This vivid availability of information in our memory affects […]
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