The Cobra Effect
When a solution to a problem makes the problem worse due to unintended consequences
British offered bounties for dead cobras, so people bred cobras to collect the reward.
The Streisand Effect
When an attempt to hide, remove, or censor information has the unintended consequence of further publicizing that information
Barbra Streisand sued to remove photos of her home from the internet, causing millions to view them.
The Paradox of Tolerance
If a society is tolerant without limit, its ability to be tolerant will eventually be destroyed by the intolerant
An online platform with no moderation eventually becomes dominated by its most extreme users.
Cunningham's Law
The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer
Post "The first iPhone was released in 2008" and watch people rush to correct you.
The Paradox of Choice
Too many options can lead to anxiety, decision paralysis, and dissatisfaction
Spending 30 minutes browsing Netflix, then giving up without watching anything.
Survivorship Bias
Focusing on successes while ignoring failures that didn't survive to be examined
Studying successful startups while ignoring thousands that failed using the same strategies.
The Hedonic Treadmill
People tend to return to a baseline level of happiness regardless of positive or negative life events
Lottery winners report similar happiness levels to before their win after just a few years.
The Peak-End Rule
We judge experiences by their most intense moment and how they ended, not by total duration
A painful medical procedure feels worse if pain spikes at the end, even if it was shorter overall.
Goodhart's Law
When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure
When schools are judged by test scores, teachers "teach to the test" rather than educate.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect
A cognitive bias in which people with low ability at a task overestimate their ability
Someone who took a few guitar lessons thinks they're ready to perform at a concert.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy
Continuing a course of action because of past investment rather than future value
Finishing a bad movie because you already paid for the ticket.
Loss Aversion
Losses hurt roughly twice as much as equivalent gains feel good
Losing $100 feels worse than finding $100 feels good.
Parkinson's Law
Work expands to fill the time available for its completion
A report given a week deadline takes a week; the same report given two days takes two days.
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to favor information that confirms existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence
Only reading news sources that align with your political views.
The Fundamental Attribution Error
Attributing others' behavior to their character while attributing our own behavior to circumstances
"He's late because he's irresponsible" vs. "I'm late because traffic was bad."
Imposter Syndrome
A psychological pattern in which one doubts one's accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud"
A published author feels their book's success was a fluke and dreads being "found out."