Scientific Definition
Build buffers so small mistakes don't become fatal.
Plain-English Definition
Build buffers so small mistakes don't become fatal.
Feynman Explanation
Plans should survive their own author being wrong about something.
Core Principle
Build buffers so small mistakes don't become fatal.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Build buffers so small mistakes don't become fatal.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Capital allocation and downside protection in strategy.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Plans should survive their own author being wrong about something.
Examples
- Buffett buying companies at a discount to intrinsic value.
- Capital allocation and downside protection in strategy.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Sized so that the most likely error case is still survivable.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Sized so that the most likely error case is still survivable.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
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Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Preferring options with known probabilities over options with unknown ones.
We overweight outcomes that are certain relative to merely probable ones.
Convex payoffs gain more than they lose; concave do the opposite.
Influence tactics weaponized — manipulation, coercion, exploitation of trust.
Dread weighs roughly double in our calculus what the equivalent gain does.
Frequent evaluation amplifies loss aversion and produces overly conservative behavior.
The moment after which reversing a course becomes impossible or extremely costly.
We overweight tiny probabilities of large gains or losses.
We ignore probability when outcomes are emotionally charged.
People take more risks when they feel safer.
Risk has known probabilities. Uncertainty doesn't.
Risk decisions are driven by current emotion — not just by computed probabilities.