There’s a sickness that’s been spreading for a while now, one that’s infecting us all. It clouds our judgment, compelling us to act out of fear and outrage. Stoked by the media, encouraged by even close family and friends, it’s the impulse to react without stopping to think.
Look, I get it. The swirl of information and disinformation is dizzying, which heightens gut reactions to protect family, health, livelihood, and safety. That makes it easy to forget factoring in things like context and biases.
Now’s the perfect time to pop a few mental models into your daily routine to inoculate you against the threat of emotionally driven bad decisions.
Examine Hanlon’s Razor
While there are many cognitive problem-solving tools that can help you make sense of the insanity of our daily news cycle, the heuristic Hanlon’s Razor is a great way to diffuse the idea that everyone’s out to get you.
Simply put, it’s about not attributing maliciousness to that which is more easily explained by incompetence, ignorance, or neglect.
When we feel people are malicious toward us, we instinctively become a negatively coiled spring, waiting for the right moment to take them down a notch or two. Removing malice from the equation, you give yourself emotional breathing room to work toward better solutions and apply more models.
In other words, precisely the kind of rose-colored goggles to put on when you’re watching or reading the news, skimming your social media feeds, or having a conversation with someone on the opposite end of the political spectrum from you.
Operate with a latticework of mental models
It’s faulty thinking to imagine that slapping on one cognitive filter will give you all you need to make better choices and take more productive action. Multiple perspectives shape a world view; you get into trouble when you allow it to boil down to just one.
Back to Hanlon’s Razor, for example. While it’s useful to write off apparent malevolence in many situations, it’s also true that some people have ill intent. So put into the mix other mental models for a healthy dose of clarity and rationality. Some to consider:
- Relativity, which reminds us that everyone has a different perspective. We can then take a step back and have some empathy.
- Probabilistic thinking, where you use math and logic to visualize potential outcomes (this can potentially calm Covid-19 concerns while still taking prudent action).
- Feedback loops, where you notice specific interactions within a broader context. This allows you to spot incremental actions and essential people to help you move towards a smart solution and a better future.
So don’t forget to apply your cognitive filters. Training your brain to ditch distractions and uncover valuable, relevant information is the ultimate chill pill.
Using Models to Stay Calm in Charged Situations | Farnam Street
