Filtered dossier

Hidden Logic

Ideas that behave differently than they look.

  • 12 / 12
  • No visual on file
    Paradox & Proof Entry #0172

    The reason more competition can raise prices

    Rivals can compete on price or on everything else. When they choose everything else, costs rise and the price has to carry them.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0172

    Rivals can compete on price or on distinctiveness. Choosing distinctiveness raises unit costs, and the buyer pays for the rivalry.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Paradox & Proof Entry #0171

    Why voting can produce a result nobody wanted

    Individual preferences can be perfectly consistent while the group preference formed from them is not. The cycle is a property of aggregation.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0171

    Transitivity does not survive aggregation. Where a cycle exists the agenda order picks the winner, through a rule that looks purely procedural.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Paradox & Proof Entry #0170

    The reason a shorter deadline can improve the work

    Available time is absorbed rather than used. Most of what fills a long schedule is elaboration that adds cost without adding value.

    Master
    The hidden part #0170

    Long schedules are filled by elaboration nobody had to justify. A shorter one forces the prioritisation that would otherwise never happen.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Paradox & Proof Entry #0169

    Why the person who explains best understands least

    A clean explanation is produced by omitting the parts that resist it. Fluency measures how much has been left out, not how much is known.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0169

    Fluency measures what has been omitted, not what is known. Hesitation is often the sound of a model actually being checked.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Paradox & Proof Entry #0168

    The reason a backup can lower reliability

    A second unit adds a component, a switch, a test and an assumption. Each is a new way to fail, and one of them fails silently.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0168

    Redundancy adds components, switching and an unobserved state. The standby’s failure produces no signal until the moment it is needed.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Paradox & Proof Entry #0167

    Why proving a negative is harder than proving a positive

    A single instance settles an existence claim. A non-existence claim requires exhausting a space, and spaces are rarely exhaustible.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0167

    One instance settles existence. Non-existence requires exhausting a space, so the claim is really a report about the search that was performed.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0150

    Why the wording of a default reveals the intended answer

    A pre-selected option is not read as an arbitrary starting point. It is read as advice from whoever built the form, and usually that reading is correct.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0150

    A pre-ticked box is advice with the author removed. Reading it as a recommendation is not a mistake, it is accurate.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0149

    The reason a plan survives contact with nobody

    A plan announced publicly acquires a defender before it acquires evidence. Announcing it also delivers part of the satisfaction that completing it was meant to supply.

    Master
    The hidden part #0149

    A published plan gains a defender before it gains evidence, and the announcement already paid out part of the reward.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0148

    Why you spend more when the currency is unfamiliar

    The count of digits is processed faster than the exchange rate. A larger nominal figure feels expensive and a smaller one feels cheap, whatever it converts to.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0148

    Digit count is read before exchange rate. The conversion then corrects an impression that has already been filed.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0147

    The reason opting in twice feels safer than once

    A second confirmation adds no information about the decision. It adds a record that the decision was taken carefully, which is what the process is really producing.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0147

    The second confirmation certifies nothing about the decision. It certifies that a decision was taken, to someone who will ask later.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0146

    Why the last question of an interview decides the first impression

    A judgement formed at the end is not appended to what came before. It reorganises the whole hour into a story with that ending as its conclusion.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0146

    The ending does not get added to the hour. It rewrites the hour into a story that was heading there all along.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0145

    The reason a bundled price stops comparison

    A single figure covering several items cannot be checked line by line. Comparison requires prices for the parts, and the bundle exists to withhold them.

    Master
    The hidden part #0145

    A bundle discloses the total honestly and withholds the only prices you could have checked. Nothing is hidden at the level you can see.

    Open file