Cognitive Errors In Day To Day Thinking

Have you ever invested time in something that, with hindsight, wasn't worth it? Have you ever continued doing something that you knew was bad for you? Have you ever done something just because other people were doing it? Have you ever seen shapes of animals, objects, people in clouds? These are examples of cognitive errors and biases, simple errors that we do in our day-to-day thinking. Cognitive errors are far too ingrained for us to be able to rid ourselves of them completely. Silencing them will require superhuman willpower, but that is not the objective, not all cognitive errors are toxic or harmful, some are even necessary for leading a good life. Identifying the most common errors helps in making day to day decisions that are not biased

Confirmation Bias is the tendency to interpret all new information so that it becomes compatible and in sync with our existing beliefs, theories and convictions. In other words, we filter out anything that contradicts our existing views.
Astrologers and Economists operate on the same principle. Their prophecies and predictions are so vague that any event can substantiate them. Journalists only use those proofs which confirm their theory or the subject of their article, rarely does a writer seek out discomforting evidence which points to the contrary.
The internet is a fertile ground for confirmation biases. To stay informed, we browse news sites and blogs, forgetting the fact that our favoured pages mirror our existing beliefs and values. Many websites change the information and remove new and divergent opinions from the radar of the

Without this illusion, half of advertising campaigns would not work.
Professional swimmers don't have perfect streamlined bodies because they train extensively. Rather, they are good swimmers because of their physiques. The design of their bodies is a factor for selection rather than a result of their activities. Similarly, female models advertise cosmetics and thus, female consumers believe that these cosmetics make you beautiful. But it is not the cosmetics that makes the model look beautiful. The models are born attractive and for this reason only, they are candidates for cosmetics advertising.
Does Harvard make you smart? Harvard has a reputation of being one of the leading universities of the world. Many highly successful people have studied there. but this doesn't necessarily mean that harvards is a good school. Harvard simply recruits the brightest students who are bound to succeed whether they go to harvard or some other university. This is another example of the Swimmer’s body