Podcast Episode Details

Reality Distortions: How 7 Illusions of Perception Impact Everyone (Especially Napoleon) - [#4 Cog Biases]

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Cognitive biases distort reality with good and bad results (like really bad).

Today is a fun experiment where we combine Psychology and History. We learn about the 7 perception-based illusions of Cognitive Biases whilst applying them to the life of Napoleon.

We understand how biases can be useful for us and lead us to greatness and how they can also be our downfall.

Cognitive biases covered:

• Selective Perception - Why we see things how we want to see them
• Exposure Effect - How repetition makes us likes stuff
• Baader-Meinhof Effect - Why we notice our car everywhere after we buy it
• Placebo Effect - How to make your leg being cut off less awful
• Illusion of Control - Why you can't roll dice
• Clustering Illusion - How we spot patterns that don't exist
• Contrast Effect - Why comparison makes things awful but also wonderful

Further reading:

• Napoleon The Great - Andrew Roberts - UK Book - US Book
• Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman - UK Book - US Book
• Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely - UK Book - US Book

Further Listening

Enjoyed this episode? Check out the rest of the Cognitive Ciases series:

1. Ego Blindspots: 9 Cognitive Biases to Avoid - [May 7th]
2. Human Nature vs. Money: Battling Irrationality & Thinking Traps [May 19th]
3. Confirmation Bias and the 7 Sins of Lazy Thinking - [June 4th]
4. [YOU ARE HERE] - Reality Distortion
5. Cognitive Rigidity and How Einstein Overcame the 5 Biases that Keep Us Stuck - [June 19th]
6. Thinking Fast and Slow: How to Make Better Decisions - [July 12th]

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  Published on 1 year, 6 months ago