🪤 Cognitive traps - all 20
20 ways our brain deceives us. Now broken down by mechanism: one foundational article and five clusters. Each trap inside a cluster: what it feels like, an example, when it isn't a trap, and what to do.
🧠 Your brain is working to spec
Before going through the traps one by one, it's worth understanding where they came from. Read >
🕳️ Your brain can't stand a blank space
The first cluster: catastrophizing, fortune telling, mind reading, the spotlight effect, projecting motives. Five traps - one mechanism. Read >
✂️ Your brain cuts the world in half
The second cluster: black-and-white thinking, false dilemma, labelling, overgeneralisation. Four traps - one operation. Read >
🧮 Your Brain Keeps Two Sets of Books
The third cluster: discounting the positive, mental filter, minimising, comparison. Four traps - one mechanism. Read >
🎛️ The illusion of control
The fourth cluster: personalisation, magical thinking, just world, shoulds. Four traps - one trade. Read >
🧾 Your Reaction Is Not Evidence
The fifth cluster: emotional reasoning, tunnel vision, minimising effort, reverse telepathy. Four traps - one substitution. Read >