![]() The list came down to about 20 unique biased mental strategies that we use for very specific reasons. I started with the raw list of the 175 biases and added them all to a spreadsheet, then took another pass removing duplicates, and grouping similar biases (like bizarreness effect and humor effect) or complementary biases (like optimism bias and pessimism bias). Reading deeply about various biases has given my brain something to chew on while I bounce little Louie to sleep. I’ve taken some time over the last four weeks (I’m on paternity leave) to try to more deeply absorb and understand this list, and to try to come up with a simpler, clearer organizing structure to hang these biases off of. There are duplicates a-plenty, and many similar biases with different names, scattered willy-nilly. Today, it groups 175 biases into vague categories (decision-making biases, social biases, memory errors, etc) that don’t really feel mutually exclusive to me, and then lists them alphabetically within categories. I think this has to do with how the page has organically evolved over the years. I often scan it and feel like I’m not able to find the bias I’m looking for, and then quickly forget what I’ve learned. Despite trying to absorb the information of this page many times over the years, very little of it seems to stick. However, honestly, the Wikipedia page is a bit of a tangled mess. Nothing else I’ve come across seems to be both as comprehensive and as succinct. ![]() It’s been an invaluable reference for helping me identify the hidden flaws in my own thinking. I’ve spent many years referencing Wikipedia’s list of cognitive biases whenever I have a hunch that a certain type of thinking is an official bias but I can’t recall the name or details. A follow-up post that explores what we should do about our bias, once we’re interested in doing so, is here: What Can We Do About Our Bias? ![]() ![]() 2022 update (1.7 million reads later □): The obsession that began with this post has turned into a book titled Why Are We Yelling? - The Art of Productive Disagreement, because it’s in disagreement and conflict that our biases tend to shine brightest. ![]()
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