Scientific Definition
Vastness that exceeds existing schemas dissolves the self briefly.
Plain-English Definition
Vastness that exceeds existing schemas dissolves the self briefly.
Feynman Explanation
Awe is humility delivered as goosebumps.
Core Principle
Vastness that exceeds existing schemas dissolves the self briefly.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
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Inputs (Triggers)
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Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Awe is humility delivered as goosebumps.
Examples
- Standing under a redwood resets what 'big' means.
- Cathedral-scale missions retain talent better than cash equivalents.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Audit decisions made in the 24 hours after an awe event.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
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The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Audit decisions made in the 24 hours after an awe event.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Anticipated harm narrows attention and accelerates action.
Positive self-evaluation tied to recognized achievement.
Painful self-evaluation against a social standard.
Clear ownership of outcomes, not just tasks.
Asymmetric information attracts the worst counterparties.
We defer to perceived expertise, rank, or uniform.
Negative feedback returns a system toward a target.
Membership in a group is a baseline human need.
Individually rational choices that produce a collectively bad outcome.
We seek tasks where we feel effective and improving.
Competing loyalties that compromise judgment.
Value is judged against whatever sits next to it.