How Cognitive Biases Are Costing You Freedom (and How to Fix It)

You're Being Lied to. Every. Single. Day.

We all want to be healthier, wealthier, and maybe even a little wiser. We crave the quick fix, the secret hack, the magic pill that will catapult us to peak performance. So we devour books, articles, podcasts – anything that promises to unlock the secrets to a better life. But here's the thing: a lot of it is bullshit. And I learned that the hard way.

Recently I read a book from a well-known bio hacker (not going to name names). Dude's got a following, a podcast, the whole package. It was a great read. It was slick, well-written and promising a life of peak performance and radiant health. I was hooked.

Everything sounded very intriguing and was backed-up by studies. A lot of it made sense to me and I was ready to implement some of the things he talked about. Except, I started digging a little deeper, and let's just say I found a few roaches in that organic, gluten-free kitchen.

It started innocently enough. I was looking at one of the recipes he was proposing. He even linked studies to back up his claims. Then, because I'm a neurotic bastard, I clicked on the source link for one of the studies.

Let's just say my bullshit detector went off like a nuclear siren. The study was on rats. Lab rats, not the human kind. But that’s not the point. It flat-out contradicted what he was saying. Who the fuck cites a study that disproves their own point? Clearly he hasn’t read them. He was cherry-picking data and twisting research to fit his narrative. And it got worse. I checked some more studies, and most of them seemed randomly picked and had nothing to do with what he was proposing.

That’s when I realized, I actually don’t know much about this guy. Doing some research and background check on him it turned out that this probably wasn’t just a mistake.

Now, I'm not naive. I know there are always a few haters, a few contrarians who love to shit on anyone with a platform. But this was different. These weren't just angry trolls; these were legitimate criticisms from people with scientific backgrounds, meticulously dismantling his claims point by point.

I was completely misled. And it pissed me off. Not just because I felt like an idiot for falling for it, but because I realized how widespread this is. This guy is a public figure, a big name in biohacking (or so it seems) appearing in a lot of podcasts of people I trust and respect. He was everywhere, and everyone seemed to be buying his bullshit.

Which got me thinking: how the hell do we get tricked so easily? How can people with millions of followers spread pseudoscience and get away with it? The answer, my friends, is a bit unsettling. Because it reveals a fundamental truth about human nature: we crave certainty, we crave shortcuts, and we are terrible at thinking critically.

The Bullshit Industrial Complex

In a world saturated with information – most of it utter garbage – the ability to think for yourself has become a superpower. And most of us haven't even bothered to pick up the instruction manual.

We’re not living in the information age anymore, we’re living in the relationship age. Trust is the limiting resource. That becomes eminent in almost all areas of life. It is becoming more important than ever.

In the past, Religion has provided people with guidance and someone they can trust. Trust in god. the decline of traditional religion left a void for many. We're constantly seeking new "belief systems" to make sense of the world. We crave certainty, guidance, and answers to the complex questions of life. Since people have lost trust in religion something else had to fill the void.

And here's the problem: this void hasn't been filled with truth, but with new ideologies. Diets, fitness fads, political stances, even our favorite influencers - they all become belief systems, often embraced with the same unquestioning faith that once fueled religion. We collect information to survive the identity we have attached to these ideologies. We ignore anything that contradicts them. We become so invested that the truth itself becomes secondary.

This is where the charismatic personalities, the massive followings, and the impressive credentials come into play. They become a smokescreen, obscuring the fact that many of these "experts" are getting things wrong, sometimes intentionally, sometimes due to their own biases. Money, fame, and the pressure to maintain a certain image often fuel misleading claims and manipulative tactics.

We see this play out every day.

Conspiracy theories are on the rise. It's not just about algorithms and echo chambers. It's a symptom of a deeper mistrust in traditional institutions and a desperate search for alternative explanations in a world that feels increasingly complex and uncertain. We see this not just in the online world, but also in our personal lives, where we gravitate towards communities and groups that reinforce our existing beliefs.

Influencers are another prime example. From fitness gurus to financial experts to self-proclaimed life coaches. While not all influencers are scammers, the lines between genuine advice and paid promotion are becoming increasingly blurred. Their carefully crafted images and persuasive storytelling can easily bypass our critical thinking, leading us to make decisions based on emotion rather than logic. And when those decisions involve our health, finances, or personal well-being, the consequences can be significant.

AI is turbocharging this trend. Its ability to generate human-quality content, from blog posts to tweets to entire books, is both awe-inspiring and terrifying. It can create a flood of information that sounds credible but is riddled with inaccuracies, biases, and outright fabrications. Without a strong foundation of critical thinking, it will become increasingly difficult to discern the real from the fake, the truth from the carefully crafted narrative.

And this is where the danger lies. We're so used to outsourcing our thinking to "experts" and authorities that we've become passive consumers of information, rather than active critical thinkers. We scroll through our feeds, absorbing headlines and sound bites, rarely questioning the source or the underlying agenda.

Why Critical Thinking Matters

But what happens when we stop thinking for ourselves? We become susceptible to manipulation, vulnerable to those who seek to profit from our anxieties and insecurities. There are a lot of good people out there and I’m pretty sure most of them don’t necessarily have bad intention. BUT they are susceptible to the same biases we all are.

It's not because we're stupid. It's because our brains are wired for efficiency, not accuracy. We're cognitive misers, constantly searching for shortcuts and easy answers.

These heuristics served us well back in the caveman days, when the biggest threat to our survival was a saber-toothed tiger, not a carefully crafted marketing campaign. But in the modern world, where we're bombarded with information from all sides, these shortcuts can lead us astray.

We fall prey to confirmation bias, seeking out information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignoring anything that challenges them. We get swayed by authority figures, assuming that someone with a platform or impressive credentials must be right. We get seduced by emotional appeals, making decisions based on how we feel rather than what makes sense.

We lose our ability to navigate the complex world of information and make choices that align with our own goals and values. We become, in a sense, mental slaves, chained to the narratives and ideologies of others.

Think back to the last time you felt truly misled by someone you trusted online. How did it make you feel? Did it erode your trust in others? Did it make you question your own judgment? It's an unsettling experience, one that can leave us feeling lost, confused, and even betrayed.

This is why critical thinking is more important now than ever before.

It's the antidote to the illusion of authority. It is a tool that allows us to break free from social conditioning and reclaim our power as independent thinkers. It's the key to navigating the information overload of the digital age.

First you have to start recognizing the game that's being played.

Just like the biohacking guru, every piece of information, every argument, every narrative is designed to achieve a specific goal. Whether it's selling you a product, convincing you to vote a certain way, or simply boosting someone's ego, there's always an underlying agenda.

Once you recognize the game, you can start to play it on your own terms. You can question the source, analyze the evidence, and evaluate the logic of the argument. You can separate the signal from the noise, the truth from the bullshit.

Next you have to start taking responsibility and think for yourself. This is where self-reliance comes in. It's not about becoming a survivalist, stockpiling canned goods and building a bunker in your backyard. It's about reclaiming ownership of your mind. It's about deciding for yourself what you believe, what matters, and what path you want to forge.

If you don’t know where you're going, someone will gladly point you in a direction that benefits them, not you. If you don’t have a purpose, you’ll be assigned one that keeps the machine running smoothly. If you don’t know what you want, you’ll be sold what everyone else is buying.

Self-reliance is about breaking free from the mental matrix. It’s the foundation upon which a life of purpose and meaning can be built. And critical thinking is the essential tool for building that foundation.

Think of it like this: critical thinking gives you the tools to build your own house, while self-reliance gives you the land to build it on. Without both, you're stuck living in someone else's prefab shack, paying rent for a life you don't truly own.

You'll be the one holding the red pill, not the blue one. And trust me, that's a much better trip.

Highlights of this trip:

• You’ll become a better at problem-solving. Instead of getting swept away by the tide of misinformation, you learn to identify the root cause of problems, analyze them from multiple perspectives, and craft effective solutions.

• You'll make better decisions. When you think critically, you don't jump to conclusions or fall for manipulation. You weigh the evidence, consider different perspectives, and make choices that align with your goals and values.

• You'll become more self-reliant. You're not outsourcing your thinking to the masses or blindly following "experts." You're taking ownership of your life, your career, and your future.

• You'll create more value. When you understand things at a deeper level, you can offer unique insights and solutions that others can't. You become a thought leader, a person people trust and turn to for guidance.

• You'll become more adaptable. The world is constantly changing. Critical thinking allows you to stay ahead of the curve, analyze new information, and adjust your strategies accordingly.

• You'll be less stressed and more peaceful. When you see through the bullshit, you stop worrying about things you can't control. You become more grounded in reality and less reactive to the chaos of the world.

We're all prone to biases, cognitive shortcuts, and the allure of simple answers. Even Nobel Prize winners have fallen prey to flawed logic and misinformation. It's human nature.

But here's the empowering realization: you have the power to change that. You can choose to break free from the herd mentality, to cultivate your own critical thinking skills, and to build a life based on your own understanding of the world, not someone else's.

A 4-Step Action Plan for Clearer Thinking and Better Decisions

So what are we going to do? We don’t want to be become a cynic or distrust everything we see and hear. Nobody wants to be that guy. Instead we want to develop a mindful approach to information, a system for evaluating its validity and extracting its true value.

Critical thinking is a skill, and like any skill, it can be learned and honed with practice. It's about questioning everything, challenging assumptions, and getting comfortable with uncertainty. It's about taking ownership of your mind and deciding for yourself what's true, what matters, and what path you want to forge.

Here are 4 practical steps to level up your mental game:

Step 1: Question Everything (Even This)

The first step is to cultivate a healthy skepticism. Not a knee-jerk rejection of everything you see and hear, but a willingness to question assumptions, even your own. Remember, your beliefs are shaped by your experiences, your upbringing, and the information you've been exposed to. And let's face it, none of us have a perfect track record.

So, start by interrogating your own beliefs. Why do you believe what you believe? What evidence do you have to support those beliefs? Are you open to changing your mind if presented with new information?

This isn't about becoming a nihilist who doubts everything. It's about recognizing that certainty is often an illusion, and a dangerous one at that. The more certain you are about something, the less likely you are to consider alternative perspectives, which blinds you to potential pitfalls and opportunities.

• Doubt First, Believe Second: Instead of automatically accepting what you see or hear, train yourself to question everything. Ask: Who's saying this? What's their agenda? What evidence do they offer? Does it make logical sense?

• Beware of Emotional Triggers: Misinformation and scams often prey on our fears, anger, and hopes. When you feel strong emotions, hit the pause button. Take a deep breath and re-engage your rational mind before reacting.

• Diversify Your Information Diet: Don't get stuck in an echo chamber. Actively seek out diverse and reputable sources of information. Compare different perspectives to get a fuller picture. Read books and articles from authors you disagree with. Listen to podcasts that challenge your worldview. Engage in respectful conversations with people who hold different opinions.

Step 2: Recognize Cognitive Biases

You are a walking, talking bag of biases. We all are. It's not about being stupid, it's about how our brains are wired. We're prone to mental shortcuts, faulty logic, and the urge to cling to what makes us feel safe (even if it's complete bullshit). If you are not aware of your problems, you can’t change them. That it’s why it’s important to have a general understanding of our biases.

Study common biases and fallacies. Become familiar with their patterns and learn to recognize them in yourself and others.

Here is a list to get you started:

Social Biases:

• Bandwagon Effect: Believing or doing something because many other people do. Example: Investing in a hyped-up stock without doing your own research because "everyone else is buying it."

• Groupthink: The tendency for groups to suppress dissenting opinions in order to maintain harmony, leading to flawed decisions. Example: A team decides to go with a risky plan because no one wants to voice their concerns and disrupt team unity.

• In-Group Bias: Favoring members of your own group over outsiders. Example: Assuming someone from your alma mater is more qualified than someone from a different school.

• Halo Effect: Generalizing positive impressions of someone to other unrelated traits. Example: If we find someone attractive, we might assume they are also intelligent and trustworthy, even without evidence.

• Authority Bias: Giving undue weight to the opinions of authority figures. Example: Blindly following a doctor's advice without doing your own research.

Memory and Information Processing Biases:

• Availability Heuristic: Judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. Example: You overestimate the danger of plane crashes because you saw a vivid news story, even though statistically they are much rarer than car accidents.

• Recency Bias: Giving more weight to recent events or information. Example: You judge a restaurant based on your last meal there, even though you've had several great meals there before.

• Confirmation Bias: Favoring information that confirms your existing beliefs and dismissing information that contradicts them. Example: You dismiss a negative review of your favorite movie because you only seek out positive reviews.

• Framing Effect: Being influenced by how information is presented, even if the underlying facts are the same. Example: You are more likely to buy a product labeled "90% fat-free" than one labeled "10% fat."

• Anchoring Bias: Over-relying on the first piece of information you receive (the "anchor"), even if it's irrelevant. Example: You negotiate a lower price on a car, but it's still higher than its actual value because the seller initially anchored you with an inflated price.

Decision-Making Biases:

• Loss Aversion: Feeling the pain of a loss more strongly than the pleasure of an equivalent gain. Example: You hold onto a losing investment because you don't want to "lock in" the loss.

• Sunk Cost Fallacy: Clinging to past investments (time, money, effort) even when they are no longer beneficial. Example: You continue working on a project that's clearly failing because you've already invested so much time and energy into it.

• Overconfidence Bias: Overestimating your abilities or knowledge. Example: You believe you're a better driver than average, even though statistically that's unlikely.

• Optimism Bias: Overestimating the likelihood of positive events and underestimating the likelihood of negative events. Example: You believe you're more likely to win the lottery than you actually are.

• Status Quo Bias: Preferring things to stay the same, even if change would be beneficial. Example: You stick with your current cable provider, even though a competitor offers a better deal.

The first step to overcoming your biases is to acknowledge they exist. Don't just memorize a list of fancy bias names like a psychology student cramming for an exam. Get real. Analyze a recent decision you regret. Was your memory playing tricks on you? Were you seeking to confirm what you already believed? This personalized approach is more effective than generic lists.

Step 3: Embrace a Rationality Mindset

Now that you've acknowledged your own fallibility, it's time to upgrade your mental operating system. Not all information is created equal. Some of it is intentionally misleading, designed to manipulate you for profit or power. Other information is simply flawed, based on incomplete data, faulty logic, or unconscious biases. Learning to spot the bullshit is an essential skill for navigating the information age.

• Be a Scout, not a Soldier: Approach arguments with intellectual humility, seeking truth rather than defending your ego. Be open to changing your mind and admitting when you're wrong.

• Recognize Motivated Reasoning: Be aware of our tendency to cherry-pick information that confirms our beliefs. Actively seek out evidence that challenges your assumptions and be willing to update your views.

• Distinguish Reality from Mythology: We have two modes of belief: reality-based and mythology-based. Be vigilant about identifying when mythological thinking (conspiracy theories, magical thinking) is driving your beliefs.

Step 4: Develop Your Own Rationality Toolkit

Okay, so you're questioning everything, you're aware of your biases, and you're embracing a rationality mindset. Excellent. Now it's time to sharpen your mental tools. You need more than just a basic understanding. You need to explore the underlying mental mechanisms that make you susceptible to these errors in judgment. This understanding is crucial because it allows us to move beyond generic labels and recognize how biases manifest in our own life.

Therefore I suggest to build a toolkit with the basic principles of logic, probability, and scientific reasoning. These are the foundations of rational thought and allow us to evaluate claims, weigh evidence, and make informed decisions.

Think of it as your personal bullshit detector, a system for separating the signal from the noise. Here's what you should be packing in your toolkit:

• Logic and Critical Thinking: Learn the fundamentals of formal logic, like identifying valid arguments and recognizing common fallacies (strawman, ad hominem, etc.). This will help you dismantle weak arguments and construct sound ones.

• Probability and Bayesian Reasoning: Think of probabilities as degrees of belief, not just frequencies. Update your beliefs based on new evidence using Bayes' Theorem, which emphasizes the importance of prior knowledge and the likelihood of new data.

• Risk and Expected Utility: Make choices by weighing potential outcomes against their probability. Quantify costs and benefits, and resist immediate gratification if it jeopardizes long-term goals.

• Game Theory: Analyze strategic interactions with others. Understand how your decisions impact their choices and vice versa. Recognize when cooperation leads to mutually beneficial outcomes, and be aware of potential pitfalls like the Prisoner's Dilemma.

• Correlation vs. Causation: Be extremely cautious about inferring cause from correlation. Look for controlled experiments and robust evidence before drawing causal conclusions. Be aware of confounding factors and alternative explanations.

To get a real grasp of these tools, you need to delve deeper. And there's no better way than through books. Here are a few excellent starting points to supercharge your rationality toolkit (and yes, I have read all of them):

The Best of the Best:

• Thinking, Fast and Slow: Consider this the Bible of cognitive biases. In my opinion a must-read for everyone. It breaks down the inner workings of our minds, revealing the cognitive biases that shape our decisions and make us susceptible to manipulation. Written by a Nobel-prize winner and basically referenced by all the other books in the list. If you can read just one book, make it this one.

• Rationality: This one goes deep. Really deep. It is a masterclass in critical thinking, exploring the nature of reason and why it's so damn important in a world full of irrationality. Pinker will challenge your assumptions, provoke your thoughts, and maybe even make you a little bit smarter in the process. One of my favorite books on the topic.

Good Introductions:

• Think Again: Adam Grant makes rationality more approachable with lots of vivd examples and practical takeaways. It's a reminder that we're all wrong about something, and that admitting it is the first step to becoming smarter. One of my favorites from this list.

• The Paradox of Choice: This was the first book I read on the topic and goes into the overwhelming amount of choices in the modern world and how it can lead to anxiety and dissatisfaction. It comes with practical strategies for navigating the sea of options and finding what truly matters to you.

Mind Expansion:

• Fooled by Randomness: Another classic, short and to the point. It is a sobering reminder that luck plays a much bigger role in our lives than we like to admit. He encourages us to embrace uncertainty and become more comfortable with the unpredictable nature of life.

• How Not to be Wrong: I liked this one a lot. Jordan Ellenberg takes math and makes it, dare I say, enjoyable. He shows you how mathematical thinking can be applied to everyday life, from understanding statistics to making better decisions.

• The Constitution of Knowledge: If you're wondering how the hell we even agree on what's true anymore, this book breaks down how knowledge is created and defended in a world of relentless bullshit. It includes some great philosophical points too.

• Good Science, Bad Science: A great book if you want to get better at understanding studies and training your bullshit detector. This should be required reading for journalists, anyone working in healthcare, and frankly, anyone who wants to avoid being duped by misleading claims.

• Collective Illusions: Todd Rose examines the phenomenon of social conformity and how it can lead us to accept false beliefs and harmful behaviors. This is a fascinating exploration of the psychology behind groupthink and how it can influence our decisions, from the mundane to the life-altering.

Real-World Rationality:

• Algorithms to Live By: This book explores how algorithms used in computer science can be applied to our everyday lives. It's a fascinating blend of computer science, psychology, and practical advice that will help you make better decisions and live a more efficient and fulfilling life.

• Thinking in Bets: Written by a former poker pro, it teaches you how to make better decisions under uncertainty. Duke shows you how to apply the principles of probability and risk assessment to all areas of your life, from your career to your relationships to your everyday choices.

Bonus Reads:

• What’s Our Problem?: More like a self-help book for society. It goes from political polarization to social media addiction to the decline of critical thinking. This book is a hilarious and insightful.

• The Bias That Divides Us: Ever wondered why you can't seem to have a rational conversation with someone who holds opposing views? This book explores the psychological roots of our biases and why it's so hard to change our minds.

• The Black Swan: Another Taleb masterpiece, this book explores the impact of unpredictable events, the "black swans" that can upend our lives and reshape the world as we know it.

• The Halo Effect: Like the title says this is book is focused on the Halo effect. It’s about how our first impressions can cloud our judgment and lead us to make stupid decisions.

• Noise: The second book by Kahneman. It goes more into detail about statistics and how most people get it wrong (even those who shouldn’t).

• Misbehaving: This book explores the world of behavioral economics and how our irrational biases influence our economic decisions.

• Doing Good Better: Want to make a real difference in the world without getting scammed or wasting your time on feel-good bullshit? This book shows you how to approach altruism with a rational, effective mindset.

Look, these are just a few suggestions to get your mental gears turning. There are a ton of other great books out there, but the key is to start reading, start questioning, and start developing your own critical thinking skills. Because in a world full of bullshit, the ability to think for yourself is the only superpower that truly matters.

Let me know if you want me to write more about this topic. If you have any questions but them in the comments, I’m happy to answer all of them.