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Adept

Clearance level 2.

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    Attention & Memory Entry #0194

    Why the tip of the tongue holds the shape of a word

    You can know a word begins with a hard sound, has three syllables and is foreign, and still not produce it. Knowing a thing and reaching it are separate operations.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0194

    A forgotten word arrives with a description of itself. That description is proof the record survives and only the route to it failed.

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    Attention & Memory Entry #0192

    Why breaking a habit needs a changed context

    A habit is not stored inside the intention. It is stored in the pairing between a setting and a response, which is why the setting has a vote.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0192

    The habit is not held in your resolve. It is held in the room, which is why moving house works better than trying harder.

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    Attention & Memory Entry #0191

    The reason you miss the obvious when counting something else

    Attention is not a window that shows whatever stands in front of it. It is a budget, and anything the current task did not request goes unpaid.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0191

    Attention is a budget, not a window. What the task did not request goes unpaid, and the unpaid item leaves no receipt of having been missed.

    Open file
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    Statistical Illusions Entry #1126

    Why Berkson bias bends the sample

    Berkson bias makes two independent traits look related because the sample was filtered by a shared gate, not by reality.

    Adept
    The hidden part #1126

    A filter can create a relationship that the population never had.

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    Persuasion Systems Entry #1121

    Why warning people can make them believe less

    Inoculation theory shows why warning people with a weak counterargument can make them harder to persuade later, not easier.

    Adept
    The hidden part #1121

    A weak challenge, handled early, can harden belief against a later one.

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    Paradox & Proof Entry #1118

    Why a treatment that works in trials can fail in practice

    The efficacy-effectiveness gap explains why a treatment that works in trials can fail in practice: trials strip out the patients and conditions ordinary care contains.

    Adept
    The hidden part #1118

    A trial measures what a treatment can do; practice measures what it does do.

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    Paradox & Proof Entry #1117

    Why a more efficient engine can burn more fuel

    The Jevons paradox explains why a more efficient engine can burn more fuel: cheaper work invites so much extra use that total consumption rises.

    Adept
    The hidden part #1117

    Efficiency makes each unit cheaper, and cheaper units get used until the saving is spent.

    Open file
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    Decision Architecture Entry #1113

    Why an option looks better alone than beside a rival

    The evaluability hypothesis explains why an option wins alone and loses beside a rival: attributes with no natural scale stay invisible until compared.

    Adept
    The hidden part #1113

    An attribute with no scale is invisible alone and decisive beside a rival.

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    Decision Architecture Entry #1112

    Why writing down when and where you will act works

    Implementation intentions work because a written when-and-where plan hands control to the situation, so the action fires without a fresh decision.

    Adept
    The hidden part #1112

    A goal names the destination; an if-then plan names the moment the journey starts.

    Open file
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    Cognitive Bias Entry #1108

    Why you take credit for the team’s win and forget your part

    Egocentric contribution bias makes every team member recall their own share as larger than it was, so the claimed contributions add up past one hundred per cent.

    Adept
    The hidden part #1108

    Everyone remembers their own part in detail and everyone else's in summary; the totals never add up.

    Open file
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    Attention & Memory Entry #1104

    Why a glance at your phone costs more than the glance

    Attention residue explains why a glance at your phone costs more than the glance: part of your mind stays on the task you left behind.

    Adept
    The hidden part #1104

    The cost of an interruption is not the minute it takes; it is the part of you that stays behind.

    Open file