Filtered dossier

Master

Clearance level 3.

  • 12 / 12
  • No visual on file
    Statistical Illusions Entry #0435

    The reason a graph without zero can double an effect

    Truncating the y-axis does not change the data. It changes the slope the eye sees, and the eye reads slope as magnitude before the mind reads the numbers.

    Master
    The hidden part #0435

    A graph with correct data and a truncated axis is not lying about the numbers. It is lying about the shape.

    Open file
  • Why “free” costs more than one cent
    Hidden Logic Entry #0010

    Why “free” costs more than one cent

    Dropping a price from one cent to zero does not shave one cent off the decision. It changes which part of the brain makes it.

    Master
    The hidden part #0010

    Zero is not the smallest price. It is a different category of thing entirely.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Scarcity & Queues Entry #0460

    The reason rationing changes what people want

    A product that was adequate becomes desirable when restricted. The restriction changed the inference the buyer draws, not the product itself.

    Master
    The hidden part #0460

    A quota does not just limit access. It changes the inference about what is being accessed. The product behind the restriction is perceived as the product that deserved the restriction.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Rhetoric & Omission Entry #0585

    The reason a statistic needs a comparison to mean anything

    A number alone is a fact without a frame. The comparison supplied beside it is what gives it size, direction and significance.

    Master
    The hidden part #0585

    A number alone is not an argument. The comparison beside it is the argument, and the person who chose the comparison chose the conclusion.

    Open file
  • Why aeroplane windows have a tiny hole
    Hidden Mechanics Entry #0007

    Why aeroplane windows have a tiny hole

    There are three panes in that window and a deliberate hole in the middle one. It decides which pane is allowed to break.

    Master
    The hidden part #0007

    The hole chooses the victim. It hands the entire cabin pressure load to the outer pane.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Price Psychology Entry #0360

    The reason a currency without symbols raises spend

    Remove the dollar sign and the number stops feeling like money. It becomes a score, and scores are spent differently from budgets.

    Master
    The hidden part #0360

    A currency symbol is not information. It is a pain cue. Remove it and the number stays; the flinch goes.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Narrative Structure Entry #0530

    Why an unresolved ending is remembered longer

    An interrupted task stays in mind longer than a completed one, which is why unresolved endings outlive the stories that finish tidily.

    Master
    The hidden part #0530

    Completion releases attention. Anything left open keeps a claim on it.

    Open file
  • Benford’s Law: why 1 leads the ledger
    Hidden Numbers Entry #0004

    Benford’s Law: why 1 leads the ledger

    In real-world data, about 30% of numbers start with the digit 1 and only 4.6% start with 9. Fraud investigators use that gap as a lie detector.

    Master
    The hidden part #0004

    Genuine numbers are unevenly distributed. Invented numbers are suspiciously even.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Platform Mechanics Entry #0285

    The reason switching costs are designed, not incidental

    Importing data is easy and exporting it is hard. The asymmetry is not an engineering oversight. It is the business model, and the difficulty is the product.

    Master
    The hidden part #0285

    The path in is lit because it serves the platform. The path out is dark because it serves the user. The two interests diverge, and the architecture follows the interest it was built to serve.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Scarcity & Queues Entry #0455

    Why one-per-customer raises the average purchase

    A limit of two per customer raises the average quantity bought. The restriction is read as information about how many one ought to take.

    Master
    The hidden part #0455

    A limit is not only a ceiling. It is a suggestion, and it usually sits above what the buyer had in mind.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Persuasion Systems Entry #0260

    The reason a concession invites a concession

    Movement in one direction creates pressure to move in return. The obligation is not in the terms but in the norm that governs the exchange.

    Master
    The hidden part #0260

    A concession is not just an offer. It is a move that transfers an obligation. The obligation is paid back in kind.

    Open file
  • Why “clue” used to be a ball of yarn
    Hidden Words Entry #0001

    Why “clue” used to be a ball of yarn

    Before it meant evidence, a clue was a physical thread — the one Theseus unwound through the labyrinth so he could find the way back out.

    Master
    The hidden part #0001

    Following a clue is not a metaphor for detection. It is a description of walking backwards along string.

    Open file