Anchoring Bias The first number heard distorts all those that follow. Biases & Heuristics

Loss Aversion Losing £100 hurts more than gaining £100 feels good. Biases & Heuristics

Confirmation Bias We seek what confirms. We ignore what contradicts. Biases & Heuristics

Availability Bias We judge as probable what comes easily to mind. Biases & Heuristics

Hindsight Bias "I knew it all along." Biases & Heuristics

Survivorship Bias We learn from survivors, not from those who disappeared. Biases & Heuristics

The Map Is Not the Territory Our models of the world are not the world. Epistemology

Chesterton's Fence Don't remove what you don't yet understand. Epistemology

The Framing Effect The same data produces opposite decisions depending on how it is presented. Biases & Heuristics

Cobra Effect An incentive designed to solve a problem ends up making it worse. Economics & Incentives

Dunning-Kruger Effect The less you know, the more confident you feel. Psychology & Behaviour

Halo Effect One positive trait colors the entire perception of a person. Biases & Heuristics

The Lindy Effect The longer something has survived, the longer it will likely survive. Epistemology

Placebo Effect Belief heals as much as the remedy. Psychology & Behaviour

Spotlight Effect We overestimate the attention others pay to us. Psychology & Behaviour

Pygmalion Effect Expectation creates reality. Psychology & Behaviour

Ringelmann Effect The larger the group, the less each member contributes. Psychology & Behaviour

Overton Window Only ideas within the window are politically viable, and the window moves. Economics & Incentives

Ikigai Your reason for being at the intersection of four dimensions. Epistemology

Brandolini's Law Debunking nonsense takes ten times more energy than producing it. Epistemology

Brooks's Law Adding developers to a late project makes it later. Engineering & Technology

Carlson's Law Continuous work is always more effective than interrupted work. Management & Organisations

Conway's Law Systems reflect the communication structure of the organisations that build them. Engineering & Technology

Gall's Law Every working complex system evolved from a simple system that worked. Engineering & Technology

Goodhart's Law When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. Economics & Incentives

Hick's Law The more choices, the longer the decision takes. Psychology & Behaviour

Hofstadter's Law It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law. Management & Organisations

Hyrum's Law With enough users, all observable behavior becomes a dependency. Engineering & Technology

Kerr's Law We reward A, we hope for B, and we get A. Economics & Incentives

Metcalfe's Law The value of a network grows as the square of its number of users. Engineering & Technology

Miller's Law Working memory can only hold 7 ± 2 items at once. Psychology & Behaviour

Pareto's Law 20% of causes produce 80% of effects. Economics & Incentives

Parkinson's Law Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Management & Organisations

Tesler's Law Complexity is incompressible: it shifts, it doesn't disappear. Engineering & Technology

Learning Culture Lotus Learn continuously, at every level. Management & Organisations

Maslow's Hammer If your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Biases & Heuristics

Dunbar's Number We can only maintain ~150 stable relationships. Management & Organisations

Abilene Paradox A group can collectively decide what nobody individually wants. Management & Organisations

Jevons Paradox Efficiency increases consumption. Economics & Incentives

Hanlon's Razor Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence. Epistemology

Peter Principle In a hierarchy, everyone rises to their level of incompetence. Management & Organisations

Postel's Law Be liberal in what you accept, conservative in what you send. Engineering & Technology

The Shirky Principle Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution. Management & Organisations

Occam's Razor Between two equivalent explanations, choose the simpler one. Epistemology