Scientific Definition
What cannot be settled by experiment is not worth debating.
Plain-English Definition
What cannot be settled by experiment is not worth debating.
Feynman Explanation
If you cannot test it, you cannot argue it.
Core Principle
What cannot be settled by experiment is not worth debating.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
What cannot be settled by experiment is not worth debating.
Pending editorial review.
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Many executive disputes are philosophical instead of empirical.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
If you cannot test it, you cannot argue it.
Examples
- Endless strategy debates about unmeasurable assumptions.
- Many executive disputes are philosophical instead of empirical.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Convert every disagreement into a falsifiable prediction.
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.
- Convert every disagreement into a falsifiable prediction.
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.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Prefer the simplest explanation consistent with the evidence.
Deriving general rules from specific examples; the leap from instance to concept.
The brain evolved to reason adaptively, not always truthfully, to reduce the cost of errors.
We solve problems by adding, even when subtracting would be better.
Assuming that if one option is true, another must be false, when both can be true.
Presuming a purposeful actor behind events that may have no actor at all.
A finite set of well-defined instructions for solving a problem or performing a computation.
Every model simplifies reality; some are still useful.
Researchers favor conclusions aligned with their school, team, or sponsor.
Using personal stories or isolated examples instead of evidence.
Claiming something is true or better because most people believe it.