Joseph Adebisi, Author at Shortform Books

Why Soft Sciences Are Flawed and Available Solutions

Why Soft Sciences Are Flawed and Good Solutions

What are soft sciences? What is the problem with social sciences? Soft sciences are academic disciplines that seek to interpret human and societal behavior using qualitative analysis for which strictly measurable criteria may be impossible to establish. The problem with soft sciences is that the desire to achieve the level of precision in hard science has led to excessive complexity and the overuse of statistical models that ignore real elements of human behavior such as biases and vices. Read on to learn more about the problems with soft sciences and how they can be fixed.

Understanding the 3 Stages of a Hero’s Journey

What are the 3 stages of a hero’s journey? How does the legend of Moses illustrate the hero’s rite of passage? The 3 stages of a hero’s journey include separation, initiation, and return. The cycle involves the hero separating from the world he has always known, gaining spiritual power in seclusion, and coming back to share the power with humanity. This is well illustrated in the legend of Moses, where he secluded himself to Mount Sinai, received the tablets of law from God, and returned to share the word of God with the people of Israel. Read on to learn

The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Know Your Abilities

The 25 Cognitive Biases: The Kruger Effect

What is the Dunning-Kruger effect? How dangerous is the Dunning-Kruger bias? The Dunning-Kruger effect is the tendency of poor performers with excessive self-regard to greatly overestimate their abilities and project themselves as more capable than they really are. This cognitive bias leads people to overstep their circle of competence and get bogged down by ventures or responsibilities they are not ready for. Read on to learn more about the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Association Bias: Why People Shoot the Messenger

The 25 Cognitive Biases: The Availability Bias

What is association bias? How can you curb bias from association? Association bias is the tendency to be easily influenced by irrational opinions about the relationship between two objects or events. It’s this bias that makes us associate high prices with quality. You can curb this bias by looking for facts that contradict your initial appraisal. Read on to learn more about association bias.

How to Be Persuasive and Always Get What You Want

What is the secret to mastering how to be persuasive? What is the danger in using psychological tricks to persuade people? You master how to be persuasive when you learn to use the psychological biases of people to get them to do what you want. This is how brands exploit the social proof bias of fans to get them to buy products promoted by their favorite celebrities. However, leveraging the psychological biases of people can backfire when it is done too transparently or it is used to achieve immoral ends. Read on master how to be persuasive and get people

The Hero With a Thousand Faces: Book Overview

Why is Joseph Campbell’s book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces important? What was the role of mythologies in ancient societies? The book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces explores the existence of common themes and story elements in the mythologies of ancient societies, even though those cultures belonged to vastly different eras. Those myths served as the manifestations of the inner conflicts and desires of each society. They helped people make sense of their subconscious desires. Read on to discover how the book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces explains the functional template of hero myths in ancient societies.

Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Lollapalooza Effect

The 25 Cognitive Biases: The Lollapalooza Effect

What is Charlie Munger’s lollapalooza effect? How do you know when this phenomenon is influencing your actions? The lollapalooza effect is triggered when more than one of the cognitive biases work together to influence your behavior. The cognitive biases reinforce each other, often leading to extreme consequences. You can recognize the phenomenon when you see extreme behaviors in individuals or a group. Read on to learn more about the impact of the lollapalooza effect.

Charlie Munger: The Reciprocation Tendency

The 25 Cognitive Biases: Reciprocation Tendency

What is the reciprocation tendency? How can reciprocity be harmful? The reciprocation tendency is the inclination of humans to reciprocate both favors and harm done to them. The reciprocation of favors enhances social cohesion and group cooperation, while the reciprocation of harm deters bad behavior in the future. Reciprocity can be harmful when the tendency is exploited by manipulators who use small concessions to demand big favors. Read on to learn more about the reciprocation tendency.

The Importance of Continuous Learning to Life Success

What is the importance of continuous learning to success in life? What is the right way to learn? The ability of voracious readers to see the world differently and to constantly develop solutions to complex problems affirms the importance of continuous learning. To succeed in life, you need to spend each day trying to be smarter than when you woke up. The best way to learn is to figure things out yourself instead of being spoon-fed information that has been modified to suit the machinations of others. Read on to discover more about the importance of continuous learning.

The Milgram Study and the Dangers of Blind Obedience

What is the focus of the Milgram study? Why is the experiment so important? The Milgram study was carried out by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram to explore the tendency of people to obey orders from authority figures even when they contradict their personal values. The experiment is important because it helps us understand why seemingly decent people will blindly follow flawed leaders to do bad things. Read on to learn more about the discoveries of the Milgram study.