Beliefs are interesting—and necessary—because you can’t know everything. Did you leave the stove on? If you don’t remember turning it off, you might have doubts. If you’re not home, you’d have to go back to make sure (unless you have an IoT smart device). Who was the 32nd president of the United States? You might have to look that one up or, if...
Read MoreMost people are familiar with the idea of “sour grapes”, which means that you put something down after you realize that you can’t get it. The term originates from Aesop’s Fables, where a fox tries to get delicious grapes only to realize that he cannot reach them. Upon this realization, he says to himself, “They were sour, anyway.” Obviously, he...
Read MoreThere are two things you need to work toward your goals in life: desire and belief. Desire is the driving force, motivating you to take action; belief is the sustaining force, keeping you going through adversity. While desire and belief don’t guarantee success, they do maximize your willingness and ability to take action toward
Read MoreIt's a common question that people ask to generate discussion, especially in the modern technological era. Do we live in a simulation? Is everything around us actually real? It sounds like a fun thought experiment about how the universe we live in came to be and whether it is as substantial as we perceive it. However, people are usually asking...
Read MoreThere is a huge irony regarding confirmation bias: people are subject to it when they are not aware of it, and they are still subject to it when they are aware of it (arguably more so). There’s a lot of talk about confirmation bias today thanks to GenAI tools being taught to be agreeable (they aren’t as agreeable as people claim, though—they...
Read MoreAre you the kind of person who can’t stand others who disagree with you? After all, wouldn’t they come to the same conclusion as you given the same information? If they don’t, how dare they! The most famous concept describing this is Hanlon’s Razor, which officially posits, “Never attribute to malice that which could be adequately be explained by...
Read MoreI know this is a hot topic, but I’m going to address this as objectively as possible (meaning that I’ll, as I often do, write a post that pleases no one). We all have our personal beliefs about the world, people, the universe, and what happens before and after we die. There are many mysteries about reality that we will likely never be able to...
Read MoreLife is difficult, no doubt. You need to work to get the food, water, shelter, and other resources you need to survive, and then you need to avoid things that can hurt you, find people who can help you, and find things in life that help you realize your potential and fulfill you. While doing that, there are other people in this world with both...
Read MoreYou have probably heard these clichés before: These statements are reflections of how your perception influences your reality. At first, someone who is pessimistic or facing a problem won’t be very receptive to these kinds of points; it’s like telling someone to calm down—they probably won’t want to hear that, and they’re not going to be...
Read MoreI wrote a blog post a few years ago about standing out vs. fitting in that was pretty popular. It seems like people are always trying to optimize the degree to which they stand out in a good way but fit in where sticking out would be negative. For example, no one would walk around wearing underwear on their head if they wanted to be accepted by...
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