Critical Thinking | The Mind Collection | How to Think for Yourself

Loki’s Wager: How to Defeat the Devil in the Detail

A reflection on Loki’s Wager, a fallacy that reminds us of the importance of nutting out the details before shaking hands with the devil.

A reflection on Wittgenstein’s Ruler, a philosophical concept about judgements and our trust in the authorities that make them.

A collection of little-known yet hard-hitting quotes by Jocko Willink, the former Navy SEAL turned leadership instructor.

A reflection on Rapoport’s Rules. It’s the most effective way to criticise you’ve never tried (and probably for good reasons).

A reflection on the Tenth Man Rule, a form of institutionalised devil’s advocacy. How can we benefit from a professional pain in the neck?

A dive into DODAR, a decision-making tool pilots use to handle the unexpected. What can we learn from those who fly and think for a living?

A reflection on Sherlock’s Mind Palace, a mnemonic technique popularised by the BBC series Sherlock. It’s surprisingly easy to build your own.

A little experiment with AI-generated ideas that should trigger the bullshit alarm of every independently-minded person.

A reflection on propaganda techniques; methods used to manipulate perception and opinion to further an agenda. But it’s not that simple.

An exploration of the Curse of Knowledge, a phenomenon that makes us lose touch with those who lack the wisdom we acquired five minutes ago.

A breakdown of the five habits of the master thinker; practices worth cultivating proposed by a former CIA analyst.

A reflection on the infamous Dunning-Kruger Effect, a cognitive bias that leads poor performers to grossly overestimate their abilities.

A reflection on the Dead Horse Theory, a classic management enigma that can only be solved with more ancient horse wisdom.

A reflection on the powerful decision-making strategy of via negativa and what it has in common with exploding whales and inner daemons.

A reflection on five useful decision-making heuristics, mental shortcuts designed to solve problems fast and make thinking more efficient.