Let me ask you a question. Here’s a scenario. You see a group of your friends huddled together and laughing. Suddenly, they see you and they stop. What would be your immediate reaction? Would you think they were laughing at your expense? Perhaps you imagined they were spreading malicious rumours…
It seems that we can’t turn on the news these days without hearing about another tragic mass shooting or the perverse exploits of a twisted serial killer. Typically, what connects these stories are the backgrounds of the offenders. Whether those close to the perpetrators noticed or not, the offenders had…
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by a situation that your normal reasoning processes are bypassed and you react in an irrational way? If so, you may have fallen victim to emotional hijacking. Emotional hijacking is a state where our emotions interfere with the functioning of our brain to the…
There are many cognitive biases that influence our decisions and judgements, but have you ever heard of survivorship bias? I hadn’t until I read about a particular problem and a very clever man who solved it. Survivorship Bias and WWII Fighter Planes Here’s the problem. It’s 1943 and we are…
Are you stressed up by exams or by task lists that you have to remember quickly? Your visual memory may need a boost. An efficient visual memory will speed up tasks tremendously, and you will be relieved that you can train yours with simple exercises at home. What Is Visual…
Ever wondered by the negative things always stick in your mind more than the positive? The reason is negativity bias. What is negativity bias and why are we prone to it? It’s common to hold on to the negative things said about us rather than the compliments we receive. They…
Have you ever been shocked that people don't agree with you when you assumed they would? You may be experiencing the false consensus effect. What is the false consensus effect? False consensus effect is a cognitive bias which causes people to overestimate the normality of their opinions, beliefs, values, and…
There are three basic intelligence types, analytical, creative and practical intelligence. For now, we shall focus on practical knowledge. Practical intelligence, also known as “hands-on” learning is the most comprehensive way of picking up new talents and gifts. Although analytical thinking gives your brain a workout, and creative thinking can…
It’s easy to fall into the herd mentality without even thinking. Following the leader isn’t always good. People may not be animals, but they still often exhibit a herd mentality. What this means is they tend to congregate in groups to perform certain objectives or uphold common beliefs. There are…
Once you’ve made a choice, you’d stick by it, right? Actually, it’s not that simple, and choice blindness can help us understand why. Choice blindness is a psychological term to describe a lack of awareness in our decisions. We will make a choice but then forget about it. Not only…
