Mental Model of the Other Side

Basics first (health/finances), then depth (mastery/impact), then altruism (widening circle).

A problem whose solution requires people to change their values, beliefs, or habits — not just apply expertise.

Holding a different — and correct — set of tools than everyone else.

Someone who incites others to take illegal or rash action, often to expose or discredit them.

Sun Tzu's ancient treatise on strategy, deception, and positioning.

Conflict between belligerents with very different resources and tactics.

We spend less when holding large bills than small ones — same money, different behavior.

Assuming something exists because we can name or define it.

The brain's overnight cleaning system; clears metabolic waste during sleep.

We favor members of our own group over outsiders.

Wansink's finding that environmental cues — plate size, packaging, lighting — silently drive consumption.

Structuring actions so that responsibility can be denied.

Generate based on retrieved documents, not just trained weights.

Whether the room stands depends on thresholds and who can see whom — not on quality alone.

Major nerve of the parasympathetic system; regulates calm, social engagement, and recovery.

Forgetting to compare an offer with the next-best alternative.

Subconscious preference for numbers (and letters) that appear in our own name or birthday.

Binding the future self with a present cost-of-defection to overcome impulse and inertia.