In: Economics
5 Logical Fallacies That Make You Wrong More Than You Think
1. Facts don’t change our minds
building arguments as a form of verbal bullying rather than a method of spreading correct information. That two reasons somebody might be arguing with you: because they actually want to get you to think the right thing, and because they’re trying to establish dominance over you to lower your status in the tribe (or office or forum) and elevate their own. That means there’s a pretty severe cost to being on the wrong side of an issue completely separate from the issue itself.
2. We’re hard-wired to have a double standard
The universal thought process that says when other people screw up, it’s because they’re stupid or evil.
we simply lack information about the context in which the other person screwed up, and so we fill it in with our own.
3. We think everyone’s out to get us
If you’re smart and savvy, you know not to trust anyone.
The world is so full of hidden agendas and stupid ideologies that we have to do whatever we can to keep up. And “whatever we can” is often code for lying.
4. Our brains don’t understand probability
It’s neglect of probability. Our brains are great for doing a lot of things. Calculating probability is not one of them.
5. We’re not programmed to seek ‘truth’, we’re programmed to ‘win’
It’s called the argumentative theory of reasoning, and it says that humans didn’t learn to ask questions and offer answers in order to find universal truths.
Being able to admit you’re wrong is the greatest skill you can develop if you want to stay married.