Why we pretend to know things, explained by a cognitive scientist
New research explains why we pretend to know more than we do.
More from Vox
What is the point of crypto?
Crypto is a solution in search of a problem — or problems.
«there’s no situation in which a hyper-capitalist, unregulated system will just sort of naturally trend toward a more equitable society.”»
Trends are dead
Everything and anything can be a trend on the internet. Why are we so determined to name them?
«Trend brain, as I call it, encourages us to simplify everything online into something either buyable, understandable, or moral (and therefore worthy of consumption).»
Money is emotional — but personal finance advice rarely accounts for that
Budgeting tips won’t get you very far if you don’t address the elephant in the room.
You May Also Like
50 Cognitive Biases in the Modern World
Our rapidly evolving world forces us to adopt distinct patterns of behavior, and in the process, paves the way for new cognitive biases to emerge.
«THE GOOGLE EFFECT Also known as “digital amnesia”, the aptly named Google Effect describes our tendency to forget information that can be easily accessed online.»
We don’t have a hundred biases, we have the wrong model
Behavioral economics has identified dozens of cognitive biases that stop us from acting 'rationally'. But instead of building up a messier and messier picture of human behavior, we need a new model.
Three Cognitive Biases We All Have (and How to Fight Them)
Everyone has these common cognitive biases—even you.
«tendency to overestimate our abilities»
Cognitive biases and brain biology help explain why facts don’t change minds
Here are some reasons for the natural human tendency to avoid or reject new information that runs counter to what you already know – and some tips on how to do better.
«confirmation bias. It’s the natural tendency to seek out information or interpret things in a way that supports your existing beliefs.»
The IKEA Effect - Why people fall in love with their own ideas
Howie Mann on Sep 3, 2022 6 minute readThe IKEA effect describes how people come to overvalue things in which they have successfully put effort into. This cognitive bias can pose risks to…
«Spike rough prototypes and MVPs to test ideas early. Embrace sharing ideas that you are embarrassed with so it will be easier to cull.»
What is Refind?
Every day Refind picks the most relevant links from around the web for you. Picking only a handful of links means focusing on what’s relevant and useful. We favor timeless pieces—links with long shelf-lives, articles that are still relevant one month, one year, or even ten years from now. These lists of the best resources on any topic are the result of years of careful curation.
How does Refind curate?
It’s a mix of human and algorithmic curation, following a number of steps:
- We monitor 10k+ sources and 1k+ thought leaders on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
- In addition, our users save links from around the web using our Save buttons and our extensions.
- Our algorithm processes 100k+ new links every day and uses external signals to find the most relevant ones, focusing on timeless pieces.
- Our community of active users gets the most relevant links every day, tailored to their interests. They provide feedback via implicit and explicit signals: open, read, listen, share, mark as read, read later, «More/less like this», etc.
- Our algorithm uses these internal signals to refine the selection.
- In addition, we have expert curators who manually curate niche topics.
The result: lists of the best and most useful articles on hundreds of topics.
How does Refind detect «timeless» pieces?
We focus on pieces with long shelf-lives—not news. We determine «timelessness» via a number of metrics, for example, the consumption pattern of links over time.
How many sources does Refind monitor?
We monitor 10k+ content sources on hundreds of topics—publications, blogs, news sites, newsletters, Substack, Medium, Twitter, etc.
Can I submit a link?
Indirectly, by using Refind and saving links from outside (e.g., via our extensions).
How can I report a problem?
When you’re logged-in, you can flag any link via the «More» (...) menu. You can also report problems via email to hello@refind.com
Who uses Refind?
300k+ smart people start their day with Refind. To learn something new. To get inspired. To move forward. Our apps have a 4.9/5 rating.
Is Refind free?
Yes, it’s free!
How can I sign up?
Head over to our homepage and sign up by email or with your Twitter or Google account.