Now Playing: Why we and our kids need to obtain mental common sense
Topic: Required Reading
Excerpts from lifehack.org via Digg
7 Stupid Thinking Errors You Probably Make"The entire domain of the scientific method has largely been an effort to overcome the natural inclination towards bias in reasoning. "Here are some common thinking errors:
1) Confirmation BiasThe confirmation bias is a tendency to seek information to prove, rather than disprove our theories. The problem arises because often, one piece of false evidence can completely invalidate the otherwise supporting factors.
2) Hindsight BiasKnown more commonly under "hindsight is 20/20" this bias causes people to see past results as appearing more probable than they did initially.
3) Clustering IllusionThis is the tendency to see patterns where none actually exist.
The clustering illusion can result in superstitions and falling for pseudoscience when patterns seem to emerge from entirely random events.
4) Recency EffectThe recency effect is the tendency to give more weight to recent data.
5) Anchoring Bias
Anchoring is a well-known problem with negotiations. The first person to state a number will usually force the other person to give a new number based on the first. Anchoring happens even when the number is completely random.
6) Overconfidence EffectAnd you were worried about having too little confidence? Studies have shown that people tend to grossly overestimate their abilities and characteristics from where they should.
7) Fundamental Attribution ErrorMistaking personality and character traits for differences caused by situations. A classic study demonstrating this had participants rate speakers who were speaking for or against Fidel Castro. Even if the participants were told the position of the speaker was determined by a coin toss, they rated the attitudes of the speaker as being closer to the side they were forced to speak on.
