Toan Truong Profile picture
Sep 2 16 tweets 5 min read Read on X
A "cognitive bias" is a systematic error in thinking that ruins decision-making.

The 12 most powerful cognitive biases I've found: Image
1. Parkinson's Law:

Work expands to fill the time given.

When we have more time, we tend to procrastinate and become inefficient.

A good reminder to track your tasks duration and energy level. Image
2. Goodhart's Law:

When a measure becomes a goal, it stops being a good measure.

I.g: Exams and standard admission shifted the focus of education.

It's no longer about the students, but about grades and pay. Image
3. P.S. If you want my collection of the best, most useful mental models, cognitive biases, and cognitive tendencies, grab a free copy of my product here:

besuperhuman.gumroad.com/l/mentalmodels
4. The Curse of Knowledge:

Experts assume everyone knows what they know.

But they struggle to teach or lead effectively for those still learning.
Simplicity is an art. Image
5. The Bandwagon Effect:

We humans are social creatures, which has its benefits.

But there's a downside too...

We often follow the crowd without thinking, just because everyone else is doing it.

Beware of the Bandwagon Effect, it's like "groupthink" and can be risky. Image
6. Egocentric Bias:

We tend to think more highly of ourselves than we should.

In group activities, we overestimate our contributions compared to others. Image
7. Cynicism

"Cynical people may seem smarter, but research suggests they're actually less intelligent.

Deep cynicism is a defense mechanism (may results in neuroticism), not a sign of true intelligent.

Moderate dose advised. Image
8. Skinner's Law:

• When procrastinating, you have 2 choices:

1. Make not doing it more painful than doing it.

2. Make doing it more enjoyable than not doing it. Image
9. Hofstadter's Law:

Projects always take longer and cost more than you expect, even when you consider Hofstadter's Law.

Double the time, triple the cost—despite your best calculations. Image
10. Elon's Law:

Beat Hofstadter's Law with an insanely ambitious deadline. Even if it takes 3x longer, you're still ahead of the game.

Elon Musk missing his super deadlines is a feature, not a bug. Image
11. Loss Aversion

Discovered by scientists Tversky and Kahneman, it reveals that the pain of losing is stronger than the pleasure of winning.

As a result, humans will go to greater lengths to avoid losses than to pursue gains. Image
12. Occam's Razor:

• Simple assumptions are often right.

• Don't overcomplicate things with too many assumptions. Image
13. "It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is; it doesn’t matter how smart you are. If it doesn’t agree with the experiment, it’s wrong."

– Richard Feynman
If you want my collection of the best, most useful mental models, cognitive biases, and cognitive tendencies, grab a free copy of my product here:

besuperhuman.gumroad.com/l/mentalmodels
That's a wrap!

Follow @ToanTruongGTX for more fascinating stories about human psychology and historical events that changed how we see the world.

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More from @ToanTruongGTX

Aug 29
This is the most powerful experiment on human potential:

The Pygmalion Effect.

It’s the true root cause why most people stay stuck, depressed, and never reach their true potential…

Here's a 4-step protocol to break the cycle today: 🧵 Image
1964. A small elementary school in California.

Psychologist Robert Rosenthal walks in with a dangerous question:

"What if intelligence isn’t fixed?"

What if it’s malleable—and can be changed by nothing more than belief? Image
Image
So he tested every child’s IQ.

Then he RIGGED the result.

Rosenthal randomly chose a handful of kids and told their teachers:

“These are your ‘intellectual bloomers.’ They’ll make exceptional progress this year.”
Read 16 tweets
Aug 27
People are now using “Buy Now, Pay Later” for $1000 Coachella tickets, $10 burritos, and even $4 Starbucks drinks.

No interest.
No credit check.
No strings attached.

You've been lied to.

BNPL is actually one of the sneakiest money scams ever built... Let me explain: (THREAD)🧵 Image
As a Vietnamee, BNPL is just starting to grow in Vietnam.

But in the West?

You can now finance burritos, deodorant, and even concert tickets.

This isn't just about money. It's about psychology, debt, and what no one teaches you in school.

Let’s break it down...
1. What is Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)?

Services like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay let you split a purchase into 4 interest-free payments.

It sounds smart. Flexible. Convenient.

But the way they *design* it is the real trick.
Read 13 tweets
Aug 26
One night in 1899, Nikola Tesla detected some mysterious signals from his tower.

He believed it came from Mars, Jupiter, or even aliens from another universe.

What he heard was much more fascinating: [THREAD] 🧵
Nikola Tesla was already famous in 1899.

His electrical inventions changed the world.

But that year, alone in his Colorado Springs lab, something happened that haunted him forever.

Something he couldn't explain... Image
Image
Tesla had built a massive experiment.

Goal: Send electricity through the air without wires.

His lab had the world's most powerful transmitter.
It could detect the tiniest electrical signals.

One night, it picked up something impossible... Image
Read 11 tweets
Aug 21
You can't think your way out of anxiety, depression, stress, or overthinking...

They are not in your head, but also not in your genes...

Pills numb the alarm while the fire burns.

Here's a guide to detox the organ that is destroying your mental health: 🧵 Image
Image
Let's envision someone named Tina.

CEO of a tech startup.
Crushing it professionally.

Heart pounding over emails.
But waking up at 3 AM with ruminations.
Convinced she was "just an anxious person."

Familiar? Image
Image
Your brain is actually 3 brains stacked on top of each other:

• Neocortex (Human brain) - Logic, language, planning

• Limbic (Mammal brain) - Emotions, memory, bonding

• Reptilian (Survival brain) - Fight, flight, freeze

Guess which one controls your anxiety? Image
Read 25 tweets
Aug 20
This was Winston Churchill's darkest WWII secret.

Inside this hidden bunker, 6 men were buried alive to spy on Hitler's troops.

Exiled from the world with only 7 years of supplies

Their story was classified for decades...

Welcome to Operation Tracer: 🧵 Image
By 1940, Europe was in chaos:

- France had fallen.
- Italy joined Hitler.
- Britain stood alone.

Gibraltar, the gateway to the Mediterranean, was the lifeline.

Lose it, and Allied supply routes would collapse. Image
Image
The Rock became one of the most valuable pieces of land in the world.

Churchill knew the Axis wanted it.

If they took it, Britain’s naval presence in the region would be crippled.
Read 21 tweets
Aug 18
In the 1900s, the UK controlled the world

• London was THE financial capital
• Controlled 1 in 4 people on Earth
• The pound was like gold

Today?

• Currency is dying
• Billionaires are leaving
• GDP growth is negative

The warnings were obvious & everywhere 🧵 Image
1. The empire that built the modern economy

In 1870, Britain made up 9% of global GDP.
By 1950, it was still 6%.

Today? Just 3.2%.

150 years of decline—masked by finance and the City of London boom.

Let me explain: Image
Image
2. London eats while the rest starves

London generates 23% of the UK’s GDP with just 13% of its population.

Median income in the capital is £45k—versus £31k in the rest of the country.

Outside London, productivity growth has flatlined since 2008. Image
Read 16 tweets

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