Notice When You're Rationalizing vs. Actually Reasoning
If you already know the conclusion before examining the evidence, you are rationalizing, not reasoning.
22
Inner World
Thinking
Critical thinking, cognitive biases, decision-making, and learning to see clearly. The operating system behind everything else.
125 advices
It's Harder to Think Clearly About Things You Care About
Emotional investment bends your thinking — you need the most clarity precisely where it is hardest to achieve.
8
Ask What Would Change Your Mind
Every honest belief has a condition for revision — if nothing could change your mind, it is dogma.
9
Good Thinking Often Feels Like Discomfort
When you feel resistance to an idea, that is often where the real thinking begins.
6
Learn to Sit with an Unfinished Thought
Some of the best insights come from carrying a question patiently rather than forcing an immediate answer.
7
Not Every Problem Needs Your Opinion
Selective engagement is wisdom, not apathy — you do not need a view on everything.
17
Treat Your First Thought as a Draft
Your first reaction is a reflex, not a conclusion — give yourself permission to revise before acting.
5
Naming a Bias Does Not Remove It
Knowing about a bias does not protect you from it — you still need active systems to counteract blind spots.
7
Being Able to Spot Flaws in Others' Reasoning Doesn't Make You Immune
Spotting others' biases is easy; seeing your own requires a fundamentally different skill.
10
Follow the Incentives and You'll Predict the Behavior
To understand behavior, look at incentives, not stated values — people respond to what they are rewarded for.
5
Before Removing a Rule, Understand Why It Was Created
Understand a rule's purpose before you decide it's unnecessary.
18
Subtraction Often Works Better Than Addition
Removing what doesn't work often beats adding something new.
11
Ask "Why" Five Times and You'll Find the Real Problem
The first answer is usually a symptom — the root cause hides deeper.
7
Don't Trust Advice from People Who Have No Skin in the Game
Weigh advice by how much the advisor stands to lose if they're wrong.
11
Feedback Loops Explain More of Life Than You Think
What looks like a fixed trait is often a loop you can interrupt.
7
Every System Is Perfectly Designed to Get the Results It Gets
Consistent results reflect the system's design, not individual effort.
21
Look at What's Missing, Not Just What's Present
What's absent often reveals more than what's present.
13
When a Metric Becomes a Target, It Stops Being a Good Metric
Optimizing for a number often destroys the value it was meant to capture.
6