Convexity vs. Concavity
Convex payoffs gain more than they lose; concave do the opposite.
"Hunt for convex. Run from concave."
What is Convexity vs. Concavity? Convex payoffs gain more than they lose; concave do the opposite. Choosing strategies whose error distributions are kind.
Venture capital is convex. Insurance underwriting is concave.
Choosing strategies whose error distributions are kind.
Plot every initiative on the convex/concave axis before committing.
This term appears in this learning path
Use the model. Pick the move.
Convex payoffs gain more than they lose; concave do the opposite. You've just seen this: Venture capital is convex. Which lever does the model recommend?
Pick a lever. There are no neutral ones — every incentive funds a behavior somewhere.
Pick a reaction to Convexity vs. Concavity
One tap. We'll point you at the most useful next surface based on how this hits.
The full taxonomy entry
Every concept in the Atlas uses the same structure — so Convexity vs. Concavity can be compared, recombined, and cited like an element on a periodic table.
- Business
- Leadership
- Government
- Healthcare
- Education
- Sales
- Marketing
- AI
- Negotiation
- Media
- Public Policy
- Relationships
- Where in our org would Convexity vs. Concavity most often show up unnoticed?
- Which metric, ritual, or contract clause quietly rewards Convexity vs. Concavity?
- If we removed every payoff for Convexity vs. Concavity, what behavior would replace it?
- Who benefits when Convexity vs. Concavity persists — and who pays the cost?
- People defend the status quo using the language of convexity vs. concavity.
- Decisions cluster around the easiest narrative rather than the strongest evidence.
- New data changes the slide deck but not the decision.
- Anyone naming the pattern is treated as the problem.
Every Atlas entry is a node in a knowledge graph. See the related rail below to follow the connections.
See Convexity vs. Concavity through 2 lenses
Each layer of the Incentives OS reframes this concept with its own thinkers, vocabulary, and diagnostic question.
Do you actually know Convexity vs. Concavity?
Three quick questions. Result is saved into your review streak — come back when the term is due to lock it in.
Which best describes Convexity vs. Concavity?
Worked example, counter-example & concept map
On-demand AI analysis grounded in the Lab's research. Cached on your device after first run.
When you encounter Convexity vs. Concavity, your amygdala tags it as threat before your reasoning brain even knows what happened — and threat wins the first move.
Threat detection, fear, social pain, loss aversion, fast emotional tagging. Loss feels roughly twice as bad as equivalent gain feels good. Social rejection lights up the same circuits as physical pain.
See Amygdala in the Brain Atlas →Picked for you, from the Atlas
Ranked by shared learning paths, overlapping chips, and what you've saved.
Systems that gain from disorder.
Build buffers so small mistakes don't become fatal.
Decision-makers should bear the consequences of their decisions.
Combine extreme safety with extreme risk; avoid the middle.
High-impact, hard-to-predict, retrospectively explainable events.
Investments that give you future choices.
Send the card, not just the link
A pre-rendered social card with the title, eyebrow, and URL. Copy the link, post it anywhere, or download the SVG for slides.
More definitions to follow
Every term in the Atlas connects to a dozen others. Pick any of these and see where it takes you.
Below-cost water rights drive overuse in arid agricultural regions.
Teams built around AI from day one vs. teams adding it to existing workflows.
We come to like people we've done a favor for, more than people who've helped us.
Pausing System 1 to engage System 2.
We don't decide once — we narrow, then evaluate, then commit.
Two things may be equivalent in effect but not in form.
Their failure: character. Our failure: situation.
Without active design, incentives decay toward gameable proxies.
Hospital group-purchasing and opaque contracting inflate device costs far above marginal cost.
Work expands to fill the time available for it.
Assume the opposite of what you want to prove. Derive a contradiction. The opposite must be false.
Managing relationships, inspiring, influencing, and coordinating others toward shared goals.