TheRedArchive

~ archived since 2018 ~

1037

Before you read

This post is an excerpt from a 100 page book I wrote on Self-Mastery called 'Thriving', I plan on putting it up on kindle over the next week, however many of the redpillers have enjoyed my various posts over the past few months. So I am putting up my whole book for FREE only for the next 34 hours, click this link to get it GET THE WHOLE BOOK Otherwise, just enjoy this post.

Heuristics and cognitive biases

If you want to understand the mechanisms of your mind, you must make it a priority to become intimate with its favourite games and tricks.

Heuristics are simply the mental shortcuts that our minds choose to solve a problem. Our minds use shortcuts all the time, after all they are pattern recognition machines. Analysing each situation on a case-by-case basis would be taxing and waste mental resources that could be allocated to more sophisticated tasks. Generally, these heuristics serve us well. But when these heuristics lead to errors in judgement, they are then called ‘cognitive biases’.

In this next section, I will disclose many of the cognitive biases that our minds succumb to frequently. With this knowledge you will be able to discern when you are under the influence of a cognitive bias and regain control over your mind to avoid errors in judgement.

Social proof

Perhaps one of the most powerful biases is social proof. That refers to assuming the actions of others to replicate the correct behaviour. Social proof is herd mentality and it is easy to succumb to this mindset. As a matter of fact, it is a default behaviour of humans. When we are unsure of what to do we often look at others for guidance. In many cases, emulating the actions of others can be of great assistance. For instance, when trying to choose a good restaurant, it is often beneficial to look at the online reviews before deciding.

The problem arises when we rely too heavily on these opinions and put ourselves in danger as a result. I remember being in the engineering computer labs at my university when a fire alarm suddenly went off. One of the engineering students assumed that it was a false alarm and told everyone to “chill out and keep working”.

I did not fall for it, however, everyone else did. I packed my bags and walked out of the room, while everyone else remained in the lab. We found out that there was a fire, and the other students had to be evacuated from the lab by staff a few minutes later.

So why did the other students stay? Was it because of the one guy who insisted that it was all good? Absolutely not. If a few people had stood up as soon as the alarm started ringing, the rest would have made their way out. The class did not follow because I was the only one who left. Their error in judgement was due to social proof.

Would you walk across a road whilst the pedestrian crossing light is still red? Under normal conditions you would wait until the light turned green, and then safely cross the road. What about if a group of people started crossing the road on red? Suddenly you will have the urge to cross too, a desire that did not exist whilst you were alone. The impulse is the one that is derived from social proof and is written in your DNA.

When you were a baby, your first instincts were to emulate others to find your way in the world. This impulse made sense and was very useful as the only reference to how you should coordinate yourself in this strange world. Fast forward a couple of years and you still have the same primordial urges. The only difference is that now you have the capacity to reason and make your own decisions.

On a large scale, social proof has the potential to ruin your life. It can stop you from creating a future that is based on what you want. Instead of developing your own goals and metrics to live by, you look at others for solutions. You look at societal standards and place those as the hallmark of achievement, even if they are not your beliefs.

Social proof is dangerous because the independent thinker who has control of her mind is most anxious when in groups. It is in these circumstances that she pays more attention to her impulses for they may betray her. In groups one is forced to question their decisions with greater scrutiny. Ask yourself,

1.“Would I do this following action if no one was around?”

2. “If I were the only person on Earth would I carry on with this?”

If the answer is no, refrain from doing it. You must not allow social proof to win the battle.

Confirmation bias

Another dangerous partiality is the confirmation bias. It occurs when we unconsciously favour existing beliefs and look for supporting evidence, whilst simultaneously omitting what disproves them.

Let us say you believe in the stereotype of Indian men being prominent in the taxi driving industry. Each time you see a man of Indian descent you tell yourself,

“Uh huh! There is another one!”

Yet your mind pays no attention to the countless Caucasian, Asian and African taxi drivers that you have met during your trips around the city.

Perhaps you hold the belief that you have some sort of psychic connection with your sister. You tell your friends that you can always sense when she is about to call you. On the days that you think she will call and she does, the belief is reinforced with strong conviction in your mind. But your mind dismisses the other days when you think about her calling and she does not.

Confirmation bias is perhaps the favourite bias of conspiracy theorists. How many times have you heard stories about an impending Armageddon that never transpired? Whenever doomsday is meant to happen and fails to deliver, conspiracy theorists are quick to ignore the reality and look onwards to other readings to confirm their beliefs.

Confirmation bias is perhaps the reason for many religious wars. Once someone becomes a zealot for any cause, it is often a fruitless endeavour to try to reason with them. The confirmation bias keeps them close-minded. In their eyes, the amount of evidence supporting their claim is immutable. The error in judgement comes from their unwillingness to collect evidence to the contrary.

If you want to have full reign over your mind, you must not allow it to be swayed by the confirmation bias. You must wage a guerrilla war against your mind and always question your beliefs. A useful template to ensure that you do not fall in the snares of the confirmation bias is the Socratic method. Socratic questioning was popularised by Socrates and it uncovers objective truths. Usually these questions are used in a dialogue with another person, however, you can ask your own questions and answer them. Often when we write things down, and we can see the ideas and beliefs for what they are, it becomes far easier to see logical flaws.

Start with a question that probes your assumption like the Indian taxi driver example.

Q. So, is it true that most taxi drivers are of Indian descent?

A. Yes. Yes, it is!

Use a question that probes the rational and looks for evidence.

Q. How many times have you noticed this? Can you give examples?

A. All the time. Just the other day I caught a taxi from the cinema and the driver was Indian! I am telling you it always happens.

Move on to questioning the viewpoint and perspective.

Q. Is it possible that perhaps there are drivers of other ethnicities?

A. Of course there are.

Q. Is it possible that you have failed to pay attention to these drivers?

A. Maybe that is true.

Question the viewpoint.

Q. Perhaps you have trained yourself to pay attention mainly to Indian taxi drivers while omitting other ethnicities? Do you think this could be a reality?

A. I suppose that could be true.

Probe implications.

Q. Let us assume that what you are saying is correct and most taxi drivers are Indians. Are you saying that other ethnicities are simply not interested and would not drive taxis? Or perhaps there is some conspiracy in which only Indian drivers can be in the taxi business?

A. Of course not, that is ridiculous.

As you can see, our racial-profiling friend would very quickly recognize the errors in his judgement just from going through these simple questions.

“Every man, wherever he goes, is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions, which move with him like flies on a summer day.” — Bertrand Russell

Loss aversion

If I gave you $100, you would be happy, right? Okay, let us say instead of giving you $100, I stole $100 from you. You would be pissed! It is understandable. Here is the interesting thing about human psychology. The pleasure you would gain from receiving the money does not amount to the pain you experience from losing the money. We are more wary of losses than potential gains. Studies have shown that losses are twice as powerful a trigger than gains.

How about I offer you a chance to win some money? The rules are very simple. I toss a coin, and if it lands on heads I will give you $200, if it lands on tails you will have to give me $100. Looking at the probabilities, you have a 50% chance of winning or losing, and a 50% chance of doubling your money and losing it. If a computer had to make this decision, it would, but chances are you would not. A gain of $200 would be amazing but losing $100 might not be worth it.

Internet marketers take advantage of loss aversion by offering you 30-day free trials to overcome the resistance of buying that is caused by the bias. No one wants to be ripped off nor lose their money over shitty products, so a 30-day free trial seems safe. However, the free trial is a double-edged sword! Once the customer has the product for 30 days, they develop a sense of ownership. The potential loss of the product far outweighs whatever cost the marketer asks. The customer does not hesitate to stay on the subscription list. So far, we have talked about loss aversion regarding money and items, but it has another insidious role. Loss aversion is a major reason people choose to remain in the status quo.

Imagine you want to start a new diet after doing research online and finding the perfect program for you. Upon reading the guide, you quickly notice that you will be severely restricting your daily calories. You read further, and the diet has you eating broccoli and plain chicken breast. Now you are suffering from cognitive dissonance - a part of you wants to lose weight and the other to keep eating Pop-Tarts and other goodies.

Looking online you notice that other people’s transformations took several months, with some people claiming the diet did not work. You decide to choose the brownies and cookies over the broccoli. The reality of loss (losing the foods that make you comfortable) is far more painful than the potential gain of being fit and healthy.

You are trying to quit smoking and promise yourself to not buy any more packets of cigarettes after finishing what you have. However, your friend buys several for your birthday after you reach the last cigarette. You decide that you will smoke the packets because the threat of loss far outweighs the potential gains of having clean lungs.

As you can see from the previous examples, loss aversion is a very dangerous bias. It limits us from our full potential. The fear of losing what we have for the possibility of an uncertain future is one that is too potent for many to digest. This distress is most likely the result of evolution. Primal man lived in a dangerous world, where losing the little resources he had could potentially have resulted in a swift death. Leaving his familiar small cave in search for a bigger, more ‘bougie’ one may have risked him being mauled by a tiger.

We now live in a world that is very different to that of primal man. It is a world that is far more forgiving. Do not let evolutionary urges of fear dictate your future. Learn to take more risks, especially if it means leaving your circle of comfort. Most our fears of loss are simply limiting.

Availability heuristic

Are you more likely to get killed by a shark or a cow? Looking at yearly statistics of deaths by animals, it looks like cows are deadlier. Yet you fear sharks more than cows. Last time I checked, movies about killer cows do not exist. I have seen ‘Jaws’, but I am still to see ‘Moo’. The availability heuristic is when we put a greater emphasis on the information that is readily available to us in our minds over actual statistics and facts.

Our judgements are often clogged by media and the information we consume daily. After a while, we start to believe that what we hear and see on television is an accurate representation of the world. We fail to investigate much of what we consume with any scrutiny. This heuristic is what leads us to have an irrational fear of flying in planes when we are more likely to be killed walking down the street. The same goes for impending terrorist attacks when we are eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer.

However, the availability heuristic is not always negative. For instance, you are not likely to put a fork in an electrical outlet because something tells you it is not a good idea. You probably have never driven 200 kilometres per hour on a freeway in your car. I doubt you would have jumped into a volcano at any point as well. You do not have to experience the outcome of these things because of the collective intelligence of humanity. In some vault in your mind lies the information about the dangers of each of these situations. Information that has kept you safe for many years. But just like any computer, your mind is subject to computational errors. Mistakes that lead to the availability cognitive bias.

A good habit to form is regularly questioning the information that is readily available in your brain. Perform some due diligence from time to time, especially regarding matters that have a direct impact on your life.

Let us say that you have been offered a new job in a new city. Your friends tell you about the various crimes they have seen on the news and warn you about the move. You remember an article you read a few months back on the rising level of crime in that city. Instead of blindly trusting the information your brain serves up, research the crime rate and other important variables. Once you obtain a realistic picture of the situation, you are better suited to make an informed decision on the matter.

I am not asking you to research every possible dangerous situation. If you happen to see a piano dangling by a rope on a street path, trust your brain and avoid the potential hazard. There is no need to go over the probabilities of getting crushed by a piano on a sidewalk. In the event of immediate dangerous situations, the brain is usually right.


[–]Ketogainsmongoose 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy Link

An issue I've seen with posts lately is individuals attempting to have another man do their thinking for them.

Be wary of any man who attempts to tell you what to think.

Fortunately,

[–]lopsidedlucky36 points37 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

This is often overlooked. Many men and women easily follow along with people that are telling them what to think.

I'm constantly astonished when I see it happen in front of me the people that follow have no idea there is an agenda behind what they're being told, often times one not favorable to them.

[–]FatStig 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy Link

Basically all of news media.

[–]Andgelyo14 points15 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

+1, herd mentality. I see a lot of it in askTRP. As men, we need to be able to think and make our own decisions. Women and children will be looking to us for guidance. Critical thinking is absolutely a vital skill for us.

[–]Wolverines_MAGA12 points13 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Even more so in todays mind fuck of the MSM. Kids are being brainwashed to not think for themselves from education systems, teachers and news networks with their own agendas. Watch a piece from Louder with Crowder where he asks people to change his mind on gun control and gender, these kids are clearly brainwashed. Its sad... these are the kids of our future. We as men need to help as many young men as we can and have them do the same.

[–]Andgelyo0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Meh, don’t have kids yet and I’m still in my (late) 20s. To be honest I don’t give a fuck about kids, if they ain’t mine or apart of my family. I’m more concerned about raising my own kid to be an alpha motherfucker among a sea of estrogen filled men and pink haired dominating females. The youth of today are obviously fucked beyond repair.

[–]Ezaar7 points8 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Not every man can have the thought in the same detail. But thought must occur for every man.

You can expand upon it, but that also leads men astray.

[–]mummersfarce_is_done10 points11 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

I don't know if you are aware but you did the exact same thing, telling us how to think. I acknowledge your agenda.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Even if you agree, never take what anyone has to say as 100% truth. Always question.

[–]Joehogans0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

No one has all the answers. You just have to reason inside yourself what rings most true to your current understandings of reality.

[–]2Joeycrackem2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Appreciate it brother.

[–]TheMasterChiefs43 points44 points  (8 children) | Copy Link

I always set 11pm the night before in my calendar for my 30d free trials and make sure to cancel that shit. It's only good to me unless it's free. Yes, I'm a serial freeloader... bc I'm broke as shit.

[–]Guthix4Days23 points24 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Most 30-day free trials will immediately start the paid subscription without asking for your permission after the one month period expires (e.g. Google music).

[–]2Joeycrackem21 points22 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Bro you are cold blooded. Nah, i feel ya. Just make sure you pay for things once you get money. There is a psychological benefit to this, you become more invested and are more likely to take it seriously when you pay.

[–]JE_121 point2 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

Do you use different credit card information or does it work with the same every single time? Or do you simply never go back to the same service?

[–]TheMasterChiefs0 points1 point  (2 children) | Copy Link

If it's Netflix, you need to use different credit cards. I only have 2, so I got 60d out of it consecutively. Now I share (aka freeload) with my richer, more successful friends.

For Google Music and Spotify, they will often advertise promos for 3mo, so I believe you can use the same card so long as it doesn't specify "for new users only." To tell you the truth, I have a hacked Spotify app that basically gives me premium for free. For magazines and news journals like the WSJ, they will have 90d for $1. You can use the same card because you're just paying the promo deal.

[–]snop7790 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

God I have such a hatred for Spotify. Among lots of other reasons, their "free" mobile app is downright disrespectful. They make you shuffle albums! I won't ever support a company so fucking greedy. I'm really into exploring music and I just download the albums to my phone or use YouTube on background and make my own playlists. Fuck Spotify, its made for basic bitches anyways

[–]2Dmva100-1 points0 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Another thing to pay attention to with subscriptions to magazines etc. Is after you've had it for a while, they start sending you the big alerts 'Almost Expired! Renew Today' almost 1 month in advance in hopes you'll renew, and they keep doing this month/year after year until you've ended up paying a whole period early out of fear.

Same goes with flu shots. They cut back or extend the 'season' nearly every year. The cucks who get flu shots every year have eventually gotten it twice in a 12 month period without realizing it.

Vitamins is another big one that relies on the loss factor. The most important sale a GNC fag can make is your first purchase of a bottle of B12, creatine, etc. Because once you take your last pill, you tend to think 'oh shit I gotta get more' whether it works or not.

Consumerist traps!

[–]Zekohl4 points5 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Do you know how influenza vaccination works?

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/flushot.htm

This isn't comparable to other vaccinations, if you need to get a flu shot, you need to get it every flu season. While there are a lot of people who don't need them, its useless to get them every other year if you do.

Also, it's a vaccination not an audible subscription, where does consumerism come into play?

[–]3d_truth40 points41 points  (4 children) | Copy Link

Social proof is a huge one. The average human is not smart. If you wanted a recommendation for the most popular restaurant and music you would be listening to Justin Beiber at Macdonalds. Reminds me of that quote, forgot who, I think it was Dumbledore or Einstein or someone

When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to seriously consider your position.

[–]Amarke 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy Link

To add on your answer, the quote is Mark Twain's. Originally it says:

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).

[–]no_face3 points4 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

This quote is very popular

[–]Joehogans1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

The majority is often wrong.

[–]3d_truth1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I like that Oscar Wilde quote.

[–]GreenTeaOnMyDesk15 points16 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Thinking fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman

And

Predictably irrational by Dan Ariely

[–]rengaroz11 points12 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Someone read Thinking, fast and slow

[–]JcHgvr20 points21 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

People aren't afraid of sharks because of the likelihood of the encounter. We are afraid of sharks because they are apex predators size of a car with row after row of teeth. Genes don't give a crap about the fact that the vast majority of people will never see a shark in real life. All they see is a massive meat grinder in a unfriendly enviroment.

[–]LeftHookTKD12 points13 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Also the reason cows kill more is because the average person will never see a shark. If we did then sharks would kill a lot more

[–]2Joeycrackem13 points14 points  (14 children) | Copy Link

There are plenty more cognitive biases, but I find these ones at play more than any others!

[–]FractalNerve4 points5 points  (13 children) | Copy Link

The Art of exploiting such behaviours is called social engineering. I have two exceptionally good books in it. But social proof hinders me from reading it. The Material is truly a sharp and deadly weapon. The Index covers everything from sales tactics, Illusion to creating an agenda and forming a cult/mafia and "hacking minds". Intimidating and creepy table of contents. One would believe knowing that ist unethical and the power gained is too high to avoid it, fearing being ousted as a "Bad Guy/Manipulator or Social Engineer".

Edit: I once met a hypnothist and was only able to infer his interest in hacking and manipulation due to one visual cue he gave, that was an innocent looking ring with an occult symbol in it. Asking that quite well dressed confident looking man if he also was interested in Penetration Testing, hacking and especially "social hacking/engineering" piqued his interest because it was head on right. Independent non-authoritarian, mildly anarchistic people tend to be smart and the only curious ones about these topics. He talked about how he was featured in a then recent woman's magazine by offering diet-hypo-therapies and is freelancing to teach managers how to lead.

Thank you very much for sharing and caring! Highly appreciated!

[–]2Joeycrackem8 points9 points  (5 children) | Copy Link

Social engineering is very powerful, Marketers use it all the time. A good book on it is "Influence: The psychology of persuasion".

[–]FractalNerve0 points1 point  (4 children) | Copy Link

Indeed. Maybe too powerful to resist the urge to use/abuse it even in unethical situations by good-willing people. One of my friends asked, wouldn't you rape a stunning Supermodel chained to a tree in an unpopulated area inmidst a forest? Anyone saying no betrays himself of authenticity and opportunity. If you know you don't get cought the resistance is zero and people you know would do it, so you assume everyone would. This is an example of abusing social proof negatively.

Btw. I updated my Post with an anecdote.

[–]The_Noble_Lie6 points7 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

Anyone saying no betrays himself of authenticity and opportunity

If you know you don't get cought the resistance is zero and people you know would do it, so you assume everyone would

This is absolutely insane. Dont project on others like this and maybe get more moral friends (unless you are ok where you are of course), less materialistic and hedonistic ones. For this is quite clearly a battle between desire for power /sexual urge and relative, even absolute morality.

Expanding on the original post, social proof is actually why many a gang rape happens. Not everyone lets hedonism and materialistic opportunities take hold of their decisions. Sure some. How many? Its quite hard to tell. In modern day, society works to dismantle absolute morality and promotes hedonism (capitalistic pursuits) so maybe an abnormal percentage would act degenerately and rape an attractive girl when granted "free reign" ...

I do not agree that all men would rape a defenseless girl in the forest even with no chance of legal reprecussions. Its because reprecussions exist in the mind. In ones self worth and a multitude of other morality relating characteristics that are developed in different ways in all humans. It seems obvious that you and many of your friends developed little of it. You should re-read this post because I highly suppose you are tremendously guilty of many cognitive bias on the daily and are entirely oblivious to it.

Further, you are prone to exhibit sociopathy if you project that "others" would do the same. Again, did you read the post at all? How many "others" did you actually ask? As you bizarrely admit...the ones that said "no" or "hell no you sick fuck" you dismiss as being "inauthentic"? The truth is some may be inauthentic but others straight up are NOT like you. Differing belief systems, different value systems, differing sexual urges etc.

Thus, you are operating on a key (false) "understanding" (exactly like "all taxi drivers are indians!") which allows sociopaths to do their bidding on humanity (manipulation.)

"If not me, others would take advantage like I am"

Except its just not true, brother. Sorry. You have a lot of work to do undoing the social hedonistic, relativist and materialist brainwashing. Start by reading the post again and searching for how you employ these tactics. We all do to some extent, we just need to be outside the box looking in.

Tldr; You are operating on a cognitive bias that if absolute power corrupts you, it corrupts everyone. The corrupt want you to believe it as true and the virus of social proof did most the work.

[–]FractalNerve1 point2 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

Oh no, you missunderstood my post. 🙈 That is all that he said to me! It was also meant as an example of abuse of social proof for negative outcome.

He accused me and everyone of unethical character in such a situation. I tried showing him that it's a wrong generalization, but then he found a straw man making a good decision the bad one, pushing the boundaries for what is to do in what situation.

I told him what every sane mind would, to free her. He went on with an other example where a couple goes along and sees her with you trying to free her, but doesn't recognize you as that but rather as her attacker. It was a twisted example of abusal of social proof and also wrong cognitive bias making a situation a lose lose game for those who play.

Edit: I am sure that you reacting emotional to this shows you being principled, but also that objectivity would help you understand and solve missunderstanings like this.

Made me think about human nature. I think berating me or anyone of future wrongdoing given that your implications were true would be no good prevention strategy. But be useful as using social proof as negative enforcement against an undesirable behavior. Which I think is natural and good willing.

Bad behavior generally is seen as bad and humans are originally of good nature and intention by birth.

Environmental, physical/chemical damage/anomaly is the only trigger I truly see as cause for prolonged bad behavior. The only 51% rule breaking exception is social engineering used professionaly. I mean the way like Trump used during his presidential campaign (according to my information).

The most ethically wrong thing possible is doing bad things like: Using Data-Science against all collections of consumer data with weaponized psychological effectiveness for mass manipulation & effective targeted spear fishing types of propaganda. That is the only type of manipulation that is like Bitcoins 51% pool size means control and allowance for double spending and in this case for double standards.

[–]The_Noble_Lie2 points3 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

I appreciate your elaboration and apologize for the mosunderstanding in that case. Maybe you could forward my rant to your friend haha. Im at work and will respond in depth if pertinant later today or tomorrow.

[–]FractalNerve0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Nah it's good :)) no worries

I guess he'll just ignore that or get offended, I believe he uses this to probe his friends for malbehaviours or maybe he really thinks everyone is bad. I don't know.

[–]BurnoutRS3 points4 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

Care to share the names of these books?

[–]savagepatchkid3 points4 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

Which books? Also, I really like the way you write

[–]sky_fallen3 points4 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I think he said they were 'The Material' and 'The Index' but I couldn't find them.

[–]bleuge1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

This, interested also in those books titles

[–]FractalNerve0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Thank you for the kind words, highly appreciated!

I added three book recommendations except the one I feel is unethical to share here, but ok if discovered on one's own (maybe I'm wrong).

When you assume that those who look for truth will not stop when finding the ugly and bad shades of our animal nature, then I believe we can feel safe and let them know it all.

"All power to the people" itself is a naïve ideological fallacy. Meaning giving everyone on Earth the power of the NSA? That's obviously wrong. We are social and hierarchically organised life forms.

Everyone is different and only the upper quantile of the Gauss curve are even interested in knowing what's in the dark. Most people, although able to leverage Social Engineering in their daily life, won't ever need more than what @OP wrote. :) Contrary to that I still believe that augmenting human intellect with such power where determined necessary is and will be our future.

[–]Terdmuffin5 points6 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

I think one of the best attributes someone can develop is critical thinking. In fact I think one of the main goals of education should be how to think, not what to think. It's a difficult thing to do. To use your piano analogy...I think a lot of people see the piano and think "well, the piano is still hanging so I should be fine to walk under it ".

[–]Rommel05026 points7 points  (4 children) | Copy Link

I know the consensus recommendation around here is to major in a STEM field, and I agree, but if you want to really learn how to think critically, may I suggest picking up a minor in philosophy. I know of no other major that teaches one to think logically and critically so quickly. I majored in physics and organically picked up a philosophy degree along the way. Thirty years later, I still find myself using the critical thinking skills I developed while taking it in college.

[–]Arabian_Wolf0 points1 point  (3 children) | Copy Link

I have an inquiry:

I have a bachelor of Pharmacy, but I found my calling is engineering, what field can I study master at with my qualification?

I have researched master degrees and found Bioscience, Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biomechanics, not sure if I can study such fields with my qualification.

[–]leonxtravis 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy Link

Not sure if he'd be able to help.

IIRC he actually ended up getting a MBA and became an investment banker.

[–]Arabian_Wolf1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Ah I see.

When I saw his advice I thought he’d be able to reply to me.

[–]Rommel05021 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

You are exactly correct. Good memory.

Arabian - he is correct. Your degree is a bit out of my wheelhouse.

[–]llamabro11 points12 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

Read this. Now just waiting for "Moo" to come out.

[–]2Joeycrackem-2 points-1 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Who is moo? ahaha I'm so confused.

[–]llamabro10 points11 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

The movie about the killer cows

[–]ImHerWonderland2 points3 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Haven't read the post yet, but I'd like to say thanks for taking the time and effort to write down your thoughts and offer it to the community free of charge.

[–]SlezBO1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I just want to say, I used to have reoccurring dreams of being chased and killed by cows...so the whole cows vs sharks and fear thing...I totally get it.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Beautiful post, made love to my brain.

[–]Wolverines_MAGA1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Great piece by the way. Our minds can be our greatest ally or our worst enemy. The choice is ours.

[–]reecewagner1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I like this thread. Being aware of your cognitive biases is the proper dose of humility in a man's life.

[–]sammysep1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

“The fear of loss” man that really resonated with me. There’s a few habits I haven’t been able to shake nor figure out why and now that you point it out I’m pretty sure it’s due to a fear of potential loss.

[–]LedZepplo1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

If you were ever able to bring these writings to a book on Amazon, I would buy it.

[–]Oscar_Cc1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Good post. I have always been interested on how marketing techniques prey on our psychology.

[–]twy34400 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Really good stuff, thanks. I will read your book.

[–]iMakeGreatDeals0 points1 point  (2 children) | Copy Link

Having $100 and then winning $200 isn't doubling your money, it's winning double your money.

[–]Joehogans0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

Wouldn't he still be doubling it though?

[–]iMakeGreatDeals0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Placing a bet to double your money would result in ending with double your money. In this case he ends with 300. He wins double his money, but he ends with more than double his money.

"Win double your money" would be true, "Double your money" would be less than true.

[–]Runhennyrun0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

For anyone else interested in learning about more cognitive biases, The undoing project by Michael Lewis is phenomenal

[–]Kinbaku_enthusiast0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

I'm with you for most of this thesis.

Confirmation bias is perhaps the reason for many religious wars

This is reductive bullshit though. Though uninformed, people in the past weren't any more stupid then they are now (which is pretty stupid, but not that stupid). I can't think of a single conflict, not even crusades or jihad that could be reduced that simply. Certainly not the period of violence in Ireland, which I only recently learned was considerably communist in nature as well.

And that makes sense. If you want to attack a country, whether through ideas (communism) or through force (say hernan cortez in america), then it helps to exploit any way in which the people are divided. Napoleon attacking into eastern europe was supported by the people of poland because they were suffering repression.

People don't even have to be genuinely repressed, just believe it to be so to take up arms into their hands.

I'm not saying religion never played a part in any conflict; far from it, but it's definitely an oversimplification to say it was simply confirmation bias and religious differences. I'm pretty sure that idea was consciously by someone exploiting the differences between the religious and secular.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Downloaded the Ebook. Thanks! Also, does anyone have any other books like this i can buy on Amazon? Self-Improvement and recognizing mental patterns, even philosophy books, are right in my wheelhouse these days...

[–]daemon860 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

I agree with alot of that, just reminding you that you are posting this in a sub full of alt-rights and fox news watchers (probably). Some people think doubting everything "mainstream" is critical thinking. I think being critical towards others is natural, but being critical about oneself is hard.

[–]azevedro0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

The irony. Men telling other men how to think for themselves. Delicious irony.

[–]primatepicasso0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

We need more quality posts like these

[–]WholesomeAwesome0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Let's make some fun game with this.

Use availability heuristic and associative memory to get her hamster thinking of sex. Basic stuff.

I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

If you want more on this, read ''thinking fast and slow''

[–]Loze10 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Thanks, we need more posts like these.

[–]davidhorse0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

Is there an audio book for this?

[–]mikesteane2 points3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I would recommend "Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow" by Daniel Hanneman. (He won the economics Nobel Prize for showing a range of ways in which the economist's assumption that consumers are rational is wrong.

[–]Benasen0 points1 point  (2 children) | Copy Link

Are you more likely to get killed by a shark or a cow? Looking at yearly statistics of deaths by animals, it looks like cows are deadlier. Yet you fear sharks more than cows. Last time I checked, movies about killer cows do not exist.

This is just plain dumb. Being more fearful of sharks as opposed to cows is a rational, intelligent thing. Sharks are deadlier, people stay away from them to a higher degree and thus they kill less. On the exact opposite cows are not natural hunters and do not instill fear which leads to people not realizing the risks.

[–]Senior Endorsed Contributormax_peenor2 points3 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

There is an entire sport enjoyed in many countries that is involves fighting or otherwise dangerous proximity with angry cows. I don't remember the last time they held a Running of the Sharks.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

We really should help evolution out a bit so we can get this Running with Sharks business booming.

[–]unplug9000 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy Link

" You probably have never driven 200 kilometres per hour on a freeway in your car." Speak for yourself. Some have done this regularly. There are freeways that enable you to do this safely and legally, and cars that have excellent road composure well beyond 200 kph. Speed by itself in not dangerous and there is no reason for it to instill fear in anyone. Being reckless and not adapting your driving to the rules and conditions of the road is. Look at the speed of some trains, but you don't hear the passengers screaming for their lives in fear. They have no reason to.

[–]SmoothPrimal-1 points0 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Definitely dont have this bias and cant afford to do this on reddit or youll consistently be siding with losers and social outcasts.

[–]AceroInoxidable-4 points-3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

I like these posts that aren't alt-right and just give useful perspectives on life.

[–]yumyumgivemesome-4 points-3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

This is why religion, and all dogmas for that matter, are extremely anti-TRP. Those of us who still cling to religion are deluding ourselves for the specific purpose of our own emotions. We need to man the fuck up. Shedding our long-cherished childhood fairy tales is an important step.

Yes, we can be generally TRP with religion, but we should always remember that that aspect of our lives is undoubtedly blue pill and irrational.

[–]Rabbit-Punch-4 points-3 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

racial profiling? fuck off

You can kill a man, but you can't kill an idea.

© TheRedArchive 2024. All rights reserved.
created by /u/dream-hunter