Learn more about problemsolving with this collection
How to create a productive workspace at home
How to balance work and personal life while working remotely
How to maintain focus and motivation while working remotely
Trusting coincidence
Just because two things change at the same time, or in similar ways, does not mean they are related.
Question the observed association. Are there many occurrences, or is this merely chance? Can you predict future associations?
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Not looking at extremes
A focus on a "normal distribution," - also known as a "bell curve," is where most people are near the average score, and only a small group is far above or below average. However, when you're dealing with extremes, small group differences can matter a lot.
Although a small change in perfo...
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Assuming statistical = real-world significance
Generalizations about how two groups differ in some way often draw on stereotypes while ignoring the similarities.
Asking for the "effect size" can prevent this error. It is a measure of how much the average of one group differs from the average of another.
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Forgetting to consider outside causes
We sometimes forget to consider "third factors," or outside causes, that could be the link between two things, because both are actually effects of the third factor.
Avoid this error by always considering more factors when you see a correlation.
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Assuming small differences are meaningful
Small, daily fluctuations are often just statistical noise. For instance, in the stock market or polls.
To avoid drawing faulty conclusions about the causes, request the "margin of error" relating to the numbers. If the difference is smaller than the margin of error, there is probab...
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Getting causation backward
When two things are related, one might be tempted to see a causal path. For instance, that mental health problems lead to unemployment. It is possible that it is reversed, such as unemployment, causing mental health issues.
When you think about the association, ask if...
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Deceptive graphs
A graph maker may choose a small range of a larger graph to highlight a little difference or association and make it look more significant.
Take care to note the graph's labels along the axes. Question unlabelled graphs.
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Related collections
Other curated ideas on this topic:
Correlation And Causation
If two incidents or things happen at around the same time does not mean that one thing is the result of the other. Often many things occur at the same time yet are completely unrelated.
A correlation of data, like:
1) Increase in social media usage, and
2) I...
Kinds of Uncertainty
- Epistemic Uncertainty: Uncertain information and data about the past or present, which can be unraveled by using measuring tools.
- Aleatory Uncertainty: The unknown things about the future related to randomness, luck, chance or indeterminacy.
- Deep Uncertain...
Getting causation backward
When two things are related, one might be tempted to see a causal path. For instance, that mental health problems lead to unemployment. It is possible that it is reversed, such as unemployment, causing mental health issues.
When you think about the association, ask if...
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