What are some common mental fallacies that i can avoid in my life?

_the_shape_ · 2018-12-07T14:35:29+00:00

That you don't have options.

There's always another job, always another apartment/house, always another girl etc.

Once you truly internalize this, the behaviors will naturally follow and the neediness will gradually evaporate.

salamander_sly · 2018-12-07T14:30:00+00:00

Sunk cost fallacy: once you've invested in something you're more likely to reinvest rather than lose your initial investment.

This is how scammers get money, relationship continue one sided, and why people double down when they should walk away.

Like when you eat more than you normally would because you already bought the food. Or you get 1/3 through a book and realize you hate the characters and plot, but finish the book anyways because you've already spent time getting this far.

Edit: added some examples

GetMeLaidAlot · 2018-12-07T17:02:02+00:00

Logical Fallacies are something I really enjoy. Every man and women should both be aware of them as they can prove harmful on a wide scale. Politicians and lawyers know them like the back of their hand and exploit the fact the general public dont know them. There's formal fallacies and informal fallacies. If you're not using ACTUAL logic, as in what you can learn from a university, then you should only worry about the latter.

Some of the most common informal logical fallacies are:

•Argument against the person ( Ad Hominem): Theres three types of Ad Hominem fallacies as well and they are

Abusive: focusing on negative aspects of the arguer and not the argument itsself
Circumstantial: saying that the person putting forth the premise only believes in it for some selfish reason
Tu Quoque: saying that the argument is invalid because it's coming from a hypocrite

Notice that all Ad Hominem arguments are based on refuting the person arguing and not the argument itself. In logic it does not matter who says what. It only matters what is said.

--Red Herring is the next one

It's basically not addressing the point that's made and bringing up some complete other bullshit point in order to escape an actual argument. People who commit this fallacy often know they are wrong. " smoking is hazardous to your health" " Well I say the government shouldnt be telling us what to do" See how the conclusion about how smoking is hazardous is never addressed?

--Straw Man Fallacy comes after this

Its setting up a flame argument on the side of your opponent and then attacking that argument because it is easier to take down a strawman than it is a real man. Get it? People commit this one all the time purely out of communication issues.

Imagine a person is buying for anti-abortion rules under the conclusion that abortion is murder. His or Her opponent would then claim "Oh, so anyone who disagrees with you should go to jail for murder?", this establishing a whole new conclusion and attacking that while ignoring the original argument

--Missing the Point Fallacy (Ignoratio Elenchi)

This ones pretty simple and easy to recognize. It's being ignorant to other possible factors that are affecting and could possibly change your conclusion. Image a college student doesnt study, parties, sleeps all day adlnd barely goes to class and then fails. He then tells himself that he doesn't have what it takes to get through college. See where he went wrong?

--Appeal to unqualified authority

This fallacy occurs if two factors are present in an argument. 1. The person setting forth the argument must be a real, qualified and recognized authority on the subject

The issue must be settled among the experts

So, in the case of Tom Cruise going on a morning talk show and advocating against antidepressants using the fact that Tom Cruise said it and holding his opinion on the matter up as to the reason why antidepressants dont work is a fallacy. Tom cruise knows a lot about acting. Not medications. If he was to speak on acting you would listen.

--Appeal to Ignorance

Just because you cant prove something is wrong isn't substantial evidence that it is right

"Theres an invisible alien in the corner and you cant prove me wrong so I must be right" Pretty simple

--Loaded Questions

These happen everyday and it's fun to set people back when you call them out on it. (At least for me it is)

All they are are questions that covertly assume that a proposition that is not yet established

The simplest example I can think of is in a case of a child abuse claim q mother is asked "Do you still have children?" To which she responds "yes" and the 3nxt question is then " And are you still abusing your children?"

See how it was never established that she was abusing her children? No argument was set forth to establish that

I'd be here typing for an hour or so if I was to write out all.of them, possibly even more, but I dont have that time right now and these are some of the more common ones. Hope this helps.

whatdidshewrite · 2018-12-07T17:19:11+00:00

Optimism bias: thinking you’re an exception to the norm.

“Most people who smoke get cancer but that won’t happen to me”

kellykebab · 2018-12-07T19:01:49+00:00

I would guess that confirmation bias is perhaps the most common, frequent fallacy. This happens when an individual develops an idea about the world and then sees only evidence to support that idea, instead of looking at all evidence (including counter-evidence) equally.

To be honest, I actually see this among some Red Pill commenters with regard to the AWALT idea. Once you believe that literally all women are irresponsible sluts, you will tend to only notice (and sometimes only successfully pursue) women who happen to fit that mold.

But honestly, Red Pill or not, virtually all people fall into confirmation biases related to all kinds of beliefs.

BusterVadge · 2018-12-07T19:30:12+00:00

"You can do whatever you put your mind to". Simply not true. For some things you have to be born into the right family or live in the right country.

Instead of that nonsense, I believe "You can do great things and can become a person that other people admire".

CatoTheHungry · 2018-12-07T16:13:25+00:00

Learn from mistakes, but Hindsight is 20/20

Colerton · 2018-12-07T20:41:36+00:00

Men and women are better than the opposite sex, at certain things.

I get that this may beating a dead horse on this sub but, honestly it makes me sad when people feel so politically incorrect or narrow minded if they think this way. Men are better at rational decision making, women are better at nurturing, they just are. Gender differences should be CELEBRATED, not condemned.

AaronKClark · 2018-12-07T19:48:42+00:00

Survivorship Bias: You think just because something worked for you, anyone can accomplish the same thing.

OfficerWade · 2018-12-07T22:21:07+00:00

Arguing with your girlfriend or spouse when there’s no reward. If you must raise your voice, or get theatrical with your words this is normal for people, just watch yourself do it.

You have to stop trying to control Womens behaviour. And accept them for exactly who they are.If you try and fix a relationsihp without working on yourself, you know your side of the street then its only going to exacerbate the problem.

This problem is with perception. My uncle would talk about the bigger picture and a lot of guys here highlight seeing the forest for the trees. It’s important to watch yourself from a detached observer so when you get upset, anxious, lonely or whatever you can say oh I’m just not looking.

Scott555 · 2018-12-07T19:56:36+00:00

The "zero-sum" fallacy is a favorite of mine, although it's hard to articulate the practical application outside of economics. Basically the idea that for you to have something means someone else has to go without. The idea that there's just one static pie we all fight for pieces of, when the truth is that productivity and creativity increases the size of the pie overall.

ainihon · 2018-12-07T23:48:36+00:00

I like where all of this is going, keep going guys!

[deleted] · 2018-12-08T03:16:47+00:00

Good article and a decent list of 12 common mental traps at the end: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind-1007733893

KonradKant · 2018-12-07T21:25:28+00:00

https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Rationality:_From_AI_to_Zombies

honorocagan · 2018-12-07T22:30:35+00:00

YouAreNotSoSmart.com

TheTrenTrannyTrain · 2018-12-08T03:41:25+00:00

The gambler's fallacy, also known as the Monte Carlo fallacy or the fallacy of the maturity of chances, is the mistaken belief that, if something happens more frequently than normal during a given period, it will happen less frequently in the future (or vice versa).

Perhaps the most famous example of the gambler's fallacy occurred in a game of roulette at the Monte Carlo Casino on August 18, 1913, when the ball fell in black 26 times in a row. This was an extremely uncommon occurrence: the probability of a sequence of red or black occurring 26 times in a row is (18/37)26-1 or around 1 in 66.6 million, assuming the mechanism is unbiased. Gamblers lost millions of francs betting against black, reasoning incorrectly that the streak was causing an imbalance in the randomness of the wheel, and that it had to be followed by a long streak of red.

58021 · 2018-12-08T05:25:34+00:00

Never think that you know everything about a situation or person until you’re absolutely sure you do.

thinking_makes_it_so · 2018-12-07T23:07:26+00:00

Hasty generalizations. Hasty generalization may be the most common logical fallacy because there’s no single agreed-upon measure for “sufficient” evidence.

AWALT is one example.

False dilemma/false dichotomy. This fallacy has a few other names: “black-and-white fallacy,” “either-or fallacy,” “false dichotomy,” and “bifurcation fallacy.” This line of reasoning fails by limiting the options to two when there are in fact more options to choose from.

A man is either Alpha or Beta is one example.

Pointing out fallacies is fun! I've been meaning to buy this fallacies poster for my son's wall (the cognitive bias one looks helpful, too):

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

sampson158 · 2018-12-08T04:22:38+00:00

Any kind of concept of getting something free

c4toyourdoornobeef · 2018-12-07T14:52:07+00:00

read the book of pook. there are no mental fallacies or philosophies that you need to know. there are no lines, no techniques, just be a man. not just a male but a man which demonstrates extreme masculinity

Title	What are some common mental fallacies that i can avoid in my life?
Author	Sekaiwoshiro
Upvotes	81
Comments	48
Date	December 7, 2018 2:24 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/a40bse/what_are_some_common_mental_fallacies_that_i_can/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/what-are-some-common-mental-fallacies-that-i-can.70014 https://theredarchive.com/post/70014

Comments