why me not think good
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-eight years and a million words
Toronto, 2014.07.03
In the same book I quoted yesterday, I found this list of common problems with human cognition; it's a doozy.
"Unfortunately, because learning is so easy and largely unconscious, there are numerous related problems with human cognition. This affects [people's] capacity to handle complex problems such as strategy execution. Relevant problems include:
- the basic cognitive limitations of individuals for processing large amounts of complex information
- relying too heavily on limited data in reaching conclusions*
- placing undue emphasis on easily or already available information*
- placing undue emphasis on vivid and memorable information
- placing undue emphasis on consistent information
- placing undue emphasis on information recently obtained
- ignoring important statistical constraints or implications
- tending not to seek dis-confirming data
- discarding or neglecting dis-confirming evidence*
- distorting reality
- assuming causality (or its direction) from association of variable
- placing undue emphasis on data obtained from senior people ('elite bias')
- maintaining hindsight biases in assessment of past events*
- reacting differently to events based on the language used to describe them
Guilty as charged! I feel like getting this list tattooed on my fore-arm. I've marked my favorites with an '*'; these why me not think good.