40 useful concepts
A really interesting list. Some of the most interesting:
6. Kurtosis Risk: “More people are killed by bees than terrorists, so why do we spend so much fighting terrorism?” The answer is that death rates =/= risk. The most a bee can do is kill a person. The most a terrorist can do is nuke a city. Current rates ignore future potential.
Exactly. Annoys me when people say more people die from x than from terrorist attacks.
12. Granfalloon: We categorize people into meaningless groups: the physics “community,” the black “community.” The people in these “communities” often have little in common, but we treat them like they think with one mind, and shockingly, some even claim to speak for them.
Amen, brother.
29. Popper’s Falsifiability Principle: For a theory to be considered scientific, it must be possible to disprove or refute it. As such, for each of your beliefs you should have a clear idea of what would persuade you you’re wrong, otherwise your belief is immune to reason.
Often overlooked.