| Note | Description | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [[notes/Abilene paradox.md\|Abilene paradox]] | A group of conflict-avoiding people agreeing to a course of action that none of them actually wants. | | [[notes/Abiogenesis.md\|Abiogenesis]] | The natural process by which life arises from non‑living matter. | | [[notes/Abulia.md\|Abulia]] | A cognitive disorder of diminished motivation. | | [[notes/Academic inflation.md\|Academic inflation]] | The value of a degree only ever decreases from the moment it is conferred. | | [[notes/Acedia.md\|Acedia]] | A mental state of listlessness or torpor. | | [[notes/Adam's Bridge.md\|Adam's Bridge]] | A discontinuous and shallow land bridge between India and Sri Lanka. | | [[notes/Adjacent possible.md\|Adjacent possible]] | The finite set of possible future states of a system given its current state. | | [[notes/Adverse childhood experiences.md\|Adverse childhood experiences]] | Traumatic events in childhood that can have long‑term effects on health and wellbeing. | | [[notes/Akrasia.md\|Akrasia]] | A state of acting against one's better judgement through weakness of will or lack of self‑control. | | [[notes/Alcubierre drive.md\|Alcubierre drive]] | A speculative concept of faster‑than‑light travel by contracting space ahead of a spacecraft and expanding it behind. | | [[notes/Aleatory probability.md\|Aleatory probability]] | Probabilities derived from random processes or games of chance that are inherently unpredictable. | | [[notes/Algebraic functions.md\|Algebraic functions]] | Functions defined by polynomials and rational expressions where the variable is raised to integer powers. | | [[notes/Algorithmic information theory.md\|Algorithmic information theory]] | A field that measures the complexity of data or strings in terms of the shortest algorithm capable of producing them. | | [[notes/All models are wrong.md\|All models are wrong]] | A reminder that scientific and statistical models are simplifications of reality and contain inaccuracies, yet can still be useful. | | [[notes/Almost-intransivity.md\|Almost-intransivity]] | A situation in decision theory where preferences are nearly, but not completely, non‑transitive across options. | | [[notes/Amara's law.md\|Amara's law]] | The tendency to overestimate the progress of a technology in the near-term and and underestimate it in the long-term. | | [[notes/Amdahl's law.md\|Amdahl's law]] | The overall speed of a system is bottlenecked by its slowest component. | | [[notes/Anacoluthon.md\|Anacoluthon]] | A rhetorical device involving a sudden break in the grammatical flow of a sentence. | | [[notes/Anadiplosis.md\|Anadiplosis]] | A rhetorical figure where the last word of one clause or sentence is repeated at the beginning of the next for emphasis. | | [[notes/Analysis paralysis.md\|Analysis paralysis]] | The state of overthinking or overanalyzing a situation to the point that a decision or action is never taken. | | [[notes/Anapodoton.md\|Anapodoton]] | A construction in which a main clause is implied but left unsaid, often used in idioms or elliptical expressions. | | [[notes/Andy and Bill's law.md\|Andy and Bill's law]] | The observation that software speed halves every 18 months due to feature bloat, countering hardware improvements. | | [[notes/Anecdata.md\|Anecdata]] | Anecdotal evidence presented as if it were data, often unreliable or non‑representative. | | [[notes/Anendophasia.md\|Anendophasia]] | A condition where a person lacks an inner monologue and experiences little to no internal verbal thought. | | [[notes/Angell paradox.md\|Angell paradox]] | States sill go to war despite their economic interdependence. | | [[notes/Anhedonia.md\|Anhedonia]] | The inability to experience pleasure from activities that are typically enjoyable, often associated with depression. | | [[notes/Anthropocene.md\|Anthropocene]] | The proposed geological epoch marking significant human impact on Earth's ecosystems and geology. | | [[notes/Anti-accretion.md\|Anti-accretion]] | The idea that, for the first time, matter starts leaving our planet to go into space, as opposed to matter just falling down. | | [[notes/Antifragility.md\|Antifragility]] | A property of systems that benefit and grow stronger from shocks, stressors, or volatility. | | [[notes/Antinomic paradox.md\|Antinomic paradox]] | A paradox in which sound reasoning leads to a genuine self-contradiction with no stable truth value. | | [[notes/Aphantasia.md\|Aphantasia]] | The inability to voluntarily create mental images, resulting in a lack of visual imagination. | | [[notes/Apologies.md\|Apologies]] | Being apologetic is not the same as being sorry. | | [[notes/Apophenia.md\|Apophenia]] | The human tendency to perceive patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. | | [[notes/Aposematism.md\|Aposematism]] | The use of warning colors, sounds, or signals by animals to deter predators by advertising toxicity or unpalatability. | | [[notes/Appeal to novelty.md\|Appeal to novelty]] | A fallacy that assumes something is better simply because it is new or modern. | | [[notes/Appeal to tradition.md\|Appeal to tradition]] | A logical fallacy that argues a practice is correct or superior simply because it has a long history. | | [[notes/Armstrong limit.md\|Armstrong limit]] | The altitude above which unprotected human blood boils due to low air pressure. | | [[notes/Arrow’s impossibility theorem.md\|Arrow’s impossibility theorem]] | The theorem that no fair rank‑order voting system can perfectly translate individual preferences into a collective decision. | | [[notes/Asimov's laws.md\|Asimov's laws]] | A set of three fictional robot laws devised by Isaac Asimov to govern robot behavior. | | [[notes/Āśrama.md\|Āśrama]] | Four traditional stages of life in Hindu philosophy, each 25-year-long. | | [[notes/Assembly theory.md\|Assembly theory]] | A framework in biology and chemistry describing how complex molecules arise through incremental assembly of smaller units. | | [[notes/Astrochicken.md\|Astrochicken]] | A hypothetical self‑replicating spacecraft concept designed to explore space through biological and robotic means. | | [[notes/Atomic note.md\|Atomic note]] | A single, self‑contained unit of knowledge or idea in note‑taking systems, designed to be linked with other notes. | | [[notes/Attention.md\|Attention]] | The cognitive process of selectively focusing on certain stimuli while ignoring others. | | [[notes/Attritional pessimism.md\|Attritional pessimism]] | The tendency to decreasingly hope for good things and increasingly hope to avoid bad things. | | [[notes/Availability cascade.md\|Availability cascade]] | A self‑reinforcing process in which an idea gains plausibility through repeated media coverage and public discourse. | | [[notes/Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.md\|Baader-Meinhof phenomenon]] | A cognitive bias where, after seeing something new, you start seeing it everywhere. | | [[notes/Baker's dozen.md\|Baker's dozen]] | A group of thirteen items, traditionally offered by bakers to avoid penalties for selling short weight. | | [[notes/Balkanization.md\|Balkanization]] | The fragmentation of a region or organisation into smaller, often hostile units due to ethnic or ideological differences. | | [[notes/Banach-Tarski paradox.md\|Banach-Tarski paradox]] | A geometry theorem stating that a sphere can be split into pieces and reassembled into two identical spheres of the original size. | | [[notes/Barnsley’s fern.md\|Barnsley’s fern]] | \- | | [[notes/Be, Know, Do.md\|Be, Know, Do]] | A leadership framework outlining that leaders must embody values (be), have knowledge (know), and take action (do). | | [[notes/Beliefs.md\|Beliefs]] | Internal convictions or acceptance that certain ideas or statements are true or real. | | [[notes/Bell's theorem.md\|Bell's theorem]] | A result showing that no local hidden‑variable theory can reproduce all the predictions of quantum mechanics. | | [[notes/Berserker hypothesis.md\|Berserker hypothesis]] | A speculative explanation to the Fermi paradox that self‑replicating machines (berserkers) roam the galaxy, destroying life. | | [[notes/Best practices and lessons learned.md\|Best practices and lessons learned]] | Documented methods and experiences that have proven effective and are shared to improve future performance. | | [[notes/Betteridge's law.md\|Betteridge's law]] | The observation that most headlines that end in a question mark can be answered by the word no. | | [[notes/Biochauvinism.md\|Biochauvinism]] | A belief that biological life has intrinsic superiority over artificial or synthetic life forms. | | [[notes/Biomedicine.md\|Biomedicine]] | A branch of medical science that applies biological and physiological principles to clinical practice. | | [[notes/Birds and frogs.md\|Birds and frogs]] | A metaphor for two types of thinkers: "birds" who see the big picture top-down and "frogs" who focus on ground‑level details. | | [[notes/Birkenhead drill.md\|Birkenhead drill]] | A maritime protocol where soldiers stand aside to allow women and children to evacuate first during a disaster. | | [[notes/Birthday paradox.md\|Birthday paradox]] | In a group of just 23 people, there is a ~50% chance that at least two share the same birthday. | | [[notes/Black swan.md\|Black swan]] | An unpredictable, rare event with severe consequences that often appears obvious in hindsight. | | [[notes/Blame.md\|Blame]] | The act of assigning responsibility for a fault or wrong, often involving judgement or criticism. | | [[notes/Bloom's taxonomy.md\|Bloom's taxonomy]] | A hierarchical classification of educational learning objectives ranging from remembering to creating. | | [[notes/Boltzmann brain.md\|Boltzmann brain]] | The thought experiment that random fluctuations in the universe could spontaneously create self‑aware entities. | | [[notes/Bonferroni correction.md\|Bonferroni correction]] | A statistical adjustment to control the probability of making false discoveries when conducting multiple comparisons. | | [[notes/Boredom escapism.md\|Boredom escapism]] | The tendency to seek constant stimulation or distraction to avoid feelings of boredom. | | [[notes/Boyer's model of scholarship.md\|Boyer's model of scholarship]] | An expanded view of scholarship encompassing discovery, integration, application, and teaching. | | [[notes/Braess's paradox.md\|Braess's paradox]] | A counterintuitive phenomenon where adding extra capacity to a network can reduce overall performance or increase congestion. | | [[notes/Brainwave entrainment.md\|Brainwave entrainment]] | The use of rhythmic stimuli to synchronize brainwave frequencies, purportedly influencing mental states. | | [[notes/Brandolini's law.md\|Brandolini's law]] | The observation that the effort required to refute nonsense is much greater than that needed to produce it. | | [[notes/Brooks' law.md\|Brooks' law]] | The software engineering principle that adding manpower to a late project makes it later. | | [[notes/Buddhist temporal cosmology.md\|Buddhist temporal cosmology]] | The Buddhist concept of cyclic time and vast cosmic epochs in which universes arise and dissolve. | | [[notes/Butterfly effect.md\|Butterfly effect]] | The sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaotic systems, where small changes can lead to vastly different outcomes. | | [[notes/Cabinet of curiosities.md\|Cabinet of curiosities]] | Historical collections of notable objects, often eclectic, that were precursors to modern museums. | | [[notes/Call me trim tab.md\|Call me trim tab]] | A metaphor to illustrate how small, strategic actions can effect significant change, like a tiny trim tab on a ship’s rudder. | | [[notes/Camel principle.md\|Camel principle]] | The heuristic that adding complexity to a problem can in fact make it easier to solve. | | [[notes/Campbell's law.md\|Campbell's law]] | The principle that when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure because people game the system. | | [[notes/Carbon fascism.md\|Carbon fascism]] | Only human subjective experience has any intrinsic value. | | [[notes/Carrington Event.md\|Carrington Event]] | The massive solar storm of 1859 that caused widespread telegraph disruptions and a benchmark for geomagnetic hazards. | | [[notes/Categories (Aristotle).md\|Categories (Aristotle)]] | Aristotle’s classification of ten fundamental ways to describe being, such as substance, quantity, and relation. | | [[notes/Category mistake.md\|Category mistake]] | A logical error where properties or concepts are incorrectly attributed to things of a different logical type. | | [[notes/Category theory.md\|Category theory]] | A branch of mathematics that studies abstract structures and relationships between them through objects and morphisms. | | [[notes/Causality.md\|Causality]] | The relationship between causes and effects, where one event brings about another. | | [[notes/CCTO.md\|CCTO]] | A chess routine to consider checks, captures, threats, and optimization at every move. | | [[notes/Chatham House Rule.md\|Chatham House Rule]] | A convention that participants may use information from a meeting but must not reveal who said it, encouraging open discussion. | | [[notes/Chesterton's fence.md\|Chesterton's fence]] | The idea that reforms should not remove existing structures without understanding why they were established in the first place. | | [[notes/Chindōgu.md\|Chindōgu]] | The satirical art of inventing impractical useful devices. | | [[notes/Chronocentrism.md\|Chronocentrism]] | The belief that one’s own time period is more important or advanced than past or future eras. | | [[notes/Chronological snobbery.md\|Chronological snobbery]] | The irrational belief that newer ideas are inherently superior to older ones. | | [[notes/Circle of competence.md\|Circle of competence]] | A mental model urging people to operate within the areas they understand deeply and recognize their limitations. | | [[notes/Clarke's three laws.md\|Clarke's three laws]] | Adages about the limits of technology, including that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. | | [[notes/Classical dystopia.md\|Classical dystopia]] | A literary portrayal of a future society characterized by oppression, surveillance and loss of freedoms. | | [[notes/Classical utopia.md\|Classical utopia]] | An idealized society depicted as perfectly just and harmonious, often contrasted with dystopia. | | [[notes/Cognitive bias.md\|Cognitive bias]] | Systematic patterns of deviation from rational judgement that affect decisions and perceptions. | | [[notes/Cognitive dissonance.md\|Cognitive dissonance]] | The psychological discomfort experienced when holding two conflicting beliefs or behaviors, often resolved by adjusting beliefs. | | [[notes/Collaborative problem-solving.md\|Collaborative problem-solving]] | The process by which groups work together to identify problems, generate solutions, and implement actions collectively. | | [[notes/Collector’s fallacy.md\|Collector’s fallacy]] | The tendency to accumulate information without synthesizing or using it. | | [[notes/Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.md\|Colorless green ideas sleep furiously]] | A grammatically correct yet semantically nonsensical sentence, illustrating the distinction between syntax and meaning. | | [[notes/Common sense.md\|Common sense]] | Practical judgement concerning everyday matters, based on sound reasoning rather than specialized knowledge. | | [[notes/Comparative advantage.md\|Comparative advantage]] | The principle that nations or individuals gain by specializing in producing goods where they have the lowest opportunity cost. | | [[notes/Compatibilism.md\|Compatibilism]] | The philosophical view that free will is compatible with determinism, allowing moral responsibility in a deterministic universe. | | [[notes/Competing values framework.md\|Competing values framework]] | A model for assessing organizational culture based on dimensions like flexibility, stability, internal focus and external positioning. | | [[notes/Complexity.md\|Complexity]] | The degree to which a system's behavior is difficult to predict due to interdependent components and nonlinear interactions. | | [[notes/Composition.md\|Composition]] | Relationships that can be deduced can also be omitted. | | [[notes/Computational irreducibility.md\|Computational irreducibility]] | The behavior of some systems cannot be shortcut by simpler calculations, but must be simulated step by step. | | [[notes/Condorcet's paradox.md\|Condorcet's paradox]] | A voting paradox where collective preferences can become cyclical and non‑transitive even if individual preferences are consistent. | | [[notes/Consensus paradox.md\|Consensus paradox]] | The situation where requiring unanimity can lead to no decision being made, or the minority blocking the majority. | | [[notes/Consequentialism.md\|Consequentialism]] | An ethical theory that judges actions solely by their outcomes or consequences. | | [[notes/Consilience.md\|Consilience]] | The unification of knowledge across disciplines through common principles and explanations. | | [[notes/Conspicuous consumption.md\|Conspicuous consumption]] | The act of acquiring and displaying luxury goods to signal status and wealth to others. | | [[notes/Constructor theory.md\|Constructor theory]] | The theory that fundamental laws can be expressed in terms of what physical transformations are possible and impossible. | | [[notes/Conversion (linguistics).md\|Conversion (linguistics)]] | The process of creating a new word by changing its grammatical category without altering its form, such as noun to verb. | | [[notes/Convexity.md\|Convexity]] | Situations where the potential upside of an action or investment vastly outweighs the downside. | | [[notes/Conway's law.md\|Conway's law]] | The observation that the design of a system mirrors the communication structures of the organisation that builds it. | | [[notes/Copernican principle.md\|Copernican principle]] | The idea that Earth and its observers are not in a privileged position in the universe; observers are typical rather than special. | | [[notes/Credence probability.md\|Credence probability]] | An individual’s subjective degree of belief in the truth of a proposition, often expressed as a probability. | | [[notes/Critical brain hypothesis.md\|Critical brain hypothesis]] | A theory that neural networks operate near a critical point between order and chaos, optimizing information processing. | | [[notes/Critical dystopia.md\|Critical dystopia]] | A dystopian narrative that includes utopian elements or critiques of the dystopia, inviting readers to imagine alternative futures. | | [[notes/Critical utopia.md\|Critical utopia]] | A utopian work that acknowledges flaws and tensions in its imagined society while still offering hope for improvement. | | [[notes/Crocker's rule.md\|Crocker's rule]] | The principle that no offense should be taken if someone intentionally asks direct questions to obtain information in good faith. | | [[notes/Culture industry.md\|Culture industry]] | Popular culture is akin to a factory producing standardized cultural goods, manipulating mass society into passivity. | | [[notes/Curse of knowledge.md\|Curse of knowledge]] | A cognitive bias where experts struggle to imagine what it is like not to know something, hindering effective communication. | | [[notes/Cute aggression.md\|Cute aggression]] | The paradoxical urge to squeeze or bite something extremely cute, as a mechanism to regulate overwhelming positive emotions. | | [[notes/Cyberpunk.md\|Cyberpunk]] | A literary genre featuring high tech and low societal conditions, with themes of cybernetics, dystopia, and megacorporations. | | [[notes/Daly rules.md\|Daly rules]] | Ecological guidelines for sustainable development, including using renewable resources at or below their regeneration rate. | | [[notes/Dark forest hypothesis.md\|Dark forest hypothesis]] | An explanation of the Fermi paradox that intelligent civilizations stay silent to avoid detection and destruction by others. | | [[notes/Data dredging.md\|Data dredging]] | The misuse of data analysis to find spurious patterns by performing numerous statistical tests without prior hypotheses. | | [[notes/De Docta Ignorantia.md\|De Docta Ignorantia]] | A philosophical treatise that explores the limits of human knowledge. | | [[notes/Dead internet theory.md\|Dead internet theory]] | A conspiracy theory claiming much of the internet’s content is generated by bots rather than humans. | | [[notes/Declinism.md\|Declinism]] | The belief that society or civilisation is in decline, often romanticising the past and fearing the future. | | [[notes/Demand (economics).md\|Demand (economics)]] | The quantity of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices. | | [[notes/Desire path.md\|Desire path]] | A trail created by repeated human or animal use, representing the preferred route rather than the officially designed path. | | [[notes/Destiny.md\|Destiny]] | A predetermined course of events often perceived as inevitable or beyond human control. | | [[notes/Determinism.md\|Determinism]] | The philosophical position that all events are determined by preceding causes and natural laws, leaving no room for randomness. | | [[notes/Dieu reconnaîtra les siens.md\|Dieu reconnaîtra les siens]] | An example of religious absolutism used to justify indiscriminate violence. | | [[notes/Diffusion of innovations.md\|Diffusion of innovations]] | A theory describing how new ideas, technologies or products spread through societies over time. | | [[notes/Digital garden.md\|Digital garden]] | An informal, continually evolving collection of notes and ideas published online that encourages exploration and connection. | | [[notes/DIKW pyramid.md\|DIKW pyramid]] | A hierarchy illustrating the relationships between Data, Information, Knowledge and Wisdom. | | [[notes/Dioxygen difluoride.md\|Dioxygen difluoride]] | A highly unstable, extremely reactive chemical compound (O2F2) known for its violent oxidation properties. | | [[notes/Distributive bargaining.md\|Distributive bargaining]] | A negotiation strategy in which parties compete to divide a fixed resource, typically resulting in a win‑lose outcome. | | [[notes/Do ut des.md\|Do ut des]] | Latin for "I give so that you may give", referring to reciprocal exchange or mutual benefit. | | [[notes/Documentality.md\|Documentality]] | A philosophical theory that social reality is created and maintained through documents, records and inscriptions. | | [[notes/Dogfooding.md\|Dogfooding]] | The practice of an organization using its own products to test and demonstrate confidence in them. | | [[notes/Dollar auction.md\|Dollar auction]] | An auction game showing escalation of commitment, where bidders spend more than an item's value to avoid losing prior bids. | | [[notes/Domino effect.md\|Domino effect]] | A cumulative chain reaction where one event sets off a sequence of similar events, often used to describe cascading failures. | | [[notes/Doomscrolling.md\|Doomscrolling]] | The compulsive habit of consuming large quantities of negative news online, often leading to increased anxiety or depression. | | [[notes/Double pendulum.md\|Double pendulum]] | A dynamical system of two linked pendulums that exhibits chaotic motion due to sensitivity to initial conditions. | | [[notes/Doublespeak.md\|Doublespeak]] | Language that deliberately obscures, disguises or distorts meaning to mislead or manipulate. | | [[notes/Doughnut economics.md\|Doughnut economics]] | A framework for sustainable development that balances human wellbeing with ecological limits within a "safe and just" space. | | [[notes/Downs–Thomson paradox.md\|Downs–Thomson paradox]] | The idea that improving road capacity can worsen overall travel times if public transport remains slow, encouraging more driving. | | [[notes/Dramaturgy (sociology).md\|Dramaturgy (sociology)]] | A metaphor comparing social interaction to theatrical performance, where individuals manage impressions on others. | | [[notes/Drapetomania.md\|Drapetomania]] | An obsolete pseudoscientific diagnosis once used to pathologize the desire of enslaved Africans to escape captivity. | | [[notes/Dual process model of coping.md\|Dual process model of coping]] | A psychological model describing how people switch between focusing on loss and engaging with restoration during grief. | | [[notes/Dunbar's number.md\|Dunbar's number]] | A theoretical limit on the number of stable social relationships humans can maintain, often around 150. | | [[notes/Dunning-Kruger effect.md\|Dunning-Kruger effect]] | A cognitive bias where people with low ability overestimate their competence while experts underestimate theirs. | | [[notes/Dutch disease.md\|Dutch disease]] | A condition where a boom in one sector, such as natural resources, harms other sectors by causing currency appreciation. | | [[notes/Dysaesthesia aethiopica.md\|Dysaesthesia aethiopica]] | A racist and discredited pseudomedical term from the 19th century used to stereotype enslaved Africans as lazy. | | [[notes/Dysgenics.md\|Dysgenics]] | The hypothesis that genetic quality of a population declines over time due to selective pressures or trends. | | [[notes/Easterlin paradox.md\|Easterlin paradox]] | The observation that beyond a certain income level, increases in average income do not necessarily increase average happiness. | | [[notes/Egg of Columbus.md\|Egg of Columbus]] | A parable showing how a problem seems simple or obvious after someone has shown how to solve it. | | [[notes/Egregore.md\|Egregore]] | A collective group mind or thought‑form created by the shared beliefs and emotions of a community. | | [[notes/Einstellung effect.md\|Einstellung effect]] | The tendency to solve problems using familiar methods even when better solutions exist. | | [[notes/Elite overproduction.md\|Elite overproduction]] | A theory positing that political instability arises when too many aspirants compete for a limited number of elite positions. | | [[notes/Emergence.md\|Emergence]] | The arising of novel properties or behaviors in complex systems that are not present in the individual components. | | [[notes/Emotive conjugation.md\|Emotive conjugation]] | The phenomenon where different words or phrases with similar denotations evoke different emotional reactions due to connotation. | | [[notes/Enkrateia.md\|Enkrateia]] | The virtue of self‑control or mastery over one’s passions and impulses, central in ancient Greek ethics. | | [[notes/Enshittification.md\|Enshittification]] | A slang term describing how digital platforms degrade over time by prioritising monetisation and ads at the expense of users. | | [[notes/Equanimity.md\|Equanimity]] | Mental calmness and composure, especially in difficult situations. | | [[notes/Ergodic literature.md\|Ergodic literature]] | Narrative works that require non‑trivial effort from the reader to navigate the text, such as nonlinear or interactive fiction. | | [[notes/Ergodic theory.md\|Ergodic theory]] | A branch of mathematics that studies the statistical behaviour of dynamical systems over long periods of time. | | [[notes/Ergodicity.md\|Ergodicity]] | A property of a system where time averages and ensemble averages coincide; often contrasted with path‑dependent processes. | | [[notes/Erin Meyer model.md\|Erin Meyer model]] | A framework for understanding cultural differences along dimensions such as communication, feedback and decision‑making. | | [[notes/Eschatology.md\|Eschatology]] | The part of theology and philosophy concerned with the end of the world or ultimate destiny of humanity. | | [[notes/Escher sentence.md\|Escher sentence]] | A sentence that is grammatically well‑formed but semantically impossible or paradoxical. | | [[notes/Ethereum properties.md\|Ethereum properties]] | Characteristics of the Ethereum blockchain such as smart contracts, decentralized applications and a proof‑of‑stake consensus. | | [[notes/Ethnic bioweapon.md\|Ethnic bioweapon]] | A hypothetical biological weapon engineered to target specific genetic or ethnic groups. | | [[notes/Eudaimonia.md\|Eudaimonia]] | A Greek concept of human flourishing or living well through virtue and the fulfilment of one’s potential. | | [[notes/Eulerian path.md\|Eulerian path]] | A trail in a graph that visits every edge exactly once. | | [[notes/Eustress.md\|Eustress]] | Positive stress that motivates or enhances performance rather than causing harm or anxiety. | | [[notes/Evaporative cooling of group beliefs.md\|Evaporative cooling of group beliefs]] | A process where moderate members leave an extremist group, increasing its extremism by "cooling off" moderate voices. | | [[notes/Exaptation.md\|Exaptation]] | The evolutionary process by which a trait evolves for one function and is later co‑opted for another. | | [[notes/Exobrain.md\|Exobrain]] | The idea of extending cognitive processes outside the biological brain through tools, notes or technology. | | [[notes/Expansion of the moral circle.md\|Expansion of the moral circle]] | The process by which ethical concern is extended beyond immediate kin to larger groups, species or generations. | | [[notes/Exponential growth bias.md\|Exponential growth bias]] | The tendency to underestimate exponential growth and focus on linear trends when forecasting. | | [[notes/Extended mind thesis.md\|Extended mind thesis]] | The philosophical view that the mind can include external tools, environments or other people as part of cognition. | | [[notes/Externality neglect.md\|Externality neglect]] | The failure to account for indirect effects of an action on third parties, leading to suboptimal decisions. | | [[notes/Extropianism.md\|Extropianism]] | A philosophy advocating for the proactive use of technology to improve the human condition and overcome biological limitations. | | [[notes/Falkland’s law.md\|Falkland’s law]] | The maxim that if it is not necessary to make a decision, it is necessary not to decide, advocating restraint. | | [[notes/False awakening.md\|False awakening]] | A vivid dream in which the dreamer believes they have woken up, often followed by realising they are still dreaming. | | [[notes/False summit.md\|False summit]] | When a goal is further away than it seems. | | [[notes/Falsidical paradox.md\|Falsidical paradox]] | A paradox in which reasoning appears sound but actually contains a hidden fallacy. | | [[notes/Farcaster.md\|Farcaster]] | A term for long‑distance teleportation in science fiction, and a social network in the Web3 ecosystem. | | [[notes/Faster-than-light.md\|Faster-than-light]] | The hypothetical motion or communication that exceeds the speed of light, often involving speculative physics. | | [[notes/Faustian bargain.md\|Faustian bargain]] | An agreement in which a person sacrifices moral integrity or long‑term wellbeing for short‑term gain or power. | | [[notes/Feigenbaum constant.md\|Feigenbaum constant]] | A mathematical constant (~4.669) that characterizes the period‑doubling route to chaos in certain dynamical systems. | | [[notes/Fermi problem.md\|Fermi problem]] | A rough estimation problem that seeks approximate answers using limited data and logical assumptions. | | [[notes/Fernweh.md\|Fernweh]] | German for an aching desire to travel to distant places. | | [[notes/Feynman technique.md\|Feynman technique]] | A learning method where you explain a concept in simple language as if teaching it, revealing gaps in understanding. | | [[notes/Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.md\|Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus]] | Latin for "Let justice be done, though the world perish", expressing absolute commitment to justice regardless of consequences. | | [[notes/Fine-structure constant.md\|Fine-structure constant]] | A dimensionless fundamental physical constant (~1/137) that characterises the strength of electromagnetic interactions. | | [[notes/First-order logic.md\|First-order logic]] | A formal system that allows quantification over individual variables, widely used in mathematics and computer science. | | [[notes/Fitness landscape.md\|Fitness landscape]] | A representation of how fit different genotypes or strategies are, often visualized as a landscape of peaks and valleys. | | [[notes/Flexibility.md\|Flexibility]] | The ability to adapt to new circumstances, change plans or adjust strategies without losing effectiveness. | | [[notes/Flow.md\|Flow]] | A mental state of complete absorption and enjoyment in an activity where challenges match one’s skills. | | [[notes/Flynn effect.md\|Flynn effect]] | The observed rise over time in standardized intelligence test scores across many populations. | | [[notes/For want of a nail.md\|For want of a nail]] | A proverb illustrating how small actions or omissions can have large, unforeseen consequences. | | [[notes/Forgetting curve.md\|Forgetting curve]] | A depiction of how memory retention declines over time without reinforcement. | | [[notes/Forking paths problem.md\|Forking paths problem]] | Narrative branching in literature. | | [[notes/Four Horsemen.md\|Four Horsemen]] | Four toxic communication patterns that strongly predict relationship breakdown and divorce | | [[notes/Four-frame model.md\|Four-frame model]] | An organizational theory that analyzes companies through structural, human resource, political and symbolic frames. | | [[notes/Friedman doctrine.md\|Friedman doctrine]] | The idea that a company’s sole social responsibility is to increase profits for its shareholders. | | [[notes/Functional Information.md\|Functional Information]] | In assembly theory, a measure of the complexity of a molecule based on how many steps are required to assemble it. | | [[notes/Futarchy.md\|Futarchy]] | A proposed form of governance where policies are chosen based on prediction markets forecasting their outcomes. | | [[notes/Futurarchic compass.md\|Futurarchic compass]] | A strategic tool for mapping possible futures along axes of desirability and probability to aid decision‑making. | | [[notes/Gall’s Law.md\|Gall’s Law]] | The systems design adage that a complex system that works evolved from a simple system that worked. | | [[notes/Galton board analogy.md\|Galton board analogy]] | A visual representation of the central limit theorem where balls bounce through pegs to form a bell‑shaped distribution. | | [[notes/Gaze aversion.md\|Gaze aversion]] | The act of deliberately looking away during conversation or thinking, which can serve communicative or cognitive functions. | | [[notes/Gedanken.md\|Gedanken]] | German for a thought experiment. | | [[notes/Gedogen.md\|Gedogen]] | A pragmatic legal stance on not enforcing certain laws. | | [[notes/Gell-Mann effect.md\|Gell-Mann effect]] | The observation that newspapers often misreport topics we know about, implying they likely misreport other topics too. | | [[notes/Gettier problem.md\|Gettier problem]] | In epistemology, cases showing that justified true belief may still fail to count as knowledge. | | [[notes/Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem.md\|Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem]] | A result in social choice theory showing that every non‑dictatorial voting system with three or more choices can be manipulated. | | [[notes/Gish gallop.md\|Gish gallop]] | A rhetorical technique that overwhelms opponents with a rapid series of arguments, making it hard to refute each point. | | [[notes/Global village.md\|Global village]] | Electronic media collapse space and time barriers and shrink the world. | | [[notes/GLOBE project.md\|GLOBE project]] | A large-scale study examining how culture influences leadership and organisational practices across countries. | | [[notes/Goodhart’s law.md\|Goodhart’s law]] | When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure because people optimize for it. | | [[notes/Goon time.md\|Goon time]] | Time spent on mindless activities. | | [[notes/Gottman ratio.md\|Gottman ratio]] | The finding that stable relationships tend to have at least five positive interactions for every negative one. | | [[notes/Great Acceleration.md\|Great Acceleration]] | The dramatic increase in human population, consumption, and technological change that impacts Earth’s systems. | | [[notes/Great Filter.md\|Great Filter]] | A theoretical barrier that prevents civilizations from advancing to interstellar colonization, used to explain the Fermi paradox. | | [[notes/Great resignation.md\|Great resignation]] | A trend where large numbers of employees voluntarily leave their jobs. | | [[notes/Grimdark.md\|Grimdark]] | A genre of speculative fiction characterized by bleak settings, moral ambiguity and pervasive violence. | | [[notes/Gross leader strategy.md\|Gross leader strategy]] | A combination of predatory business practices to gain market share. | | [[notes/Group selection.md\|Group selection]] | An evolutionary hypothesis that natural selection can act at the level of groups as well as individuals. | | [[notes/Half-life of knowledge.md\|Half-life of knowledge]] | The time it takes for half of the knowledge in a field to become obsolete due to new discoveries and changes. | | [[notes/Hamiltonian path.md\|Hamiltonian path]] | A path in a graph that visits each vertex exactly once. | | [[notes/Handicap principle.md\|Handicap principle]] | The idea in evolutionary biology that costly traits can signal genetic fitness because only the fittest can afford them. | | [[notes/Hang on tightly, let go lightly.md\|Hang on tightly, let go lightly]] | A principle of dedication and flexibility: commit fully when appropriate, but be willing to release attachment when necessary. | | [[notes/Hara hachi bun me.md\|Hara hachi bun me]] | A Japanese proverb advising people to eat until they are 80% full to promote health and longevity. | | [[notes/Harberger tax.md\|Harberger tax]] | A property tax there owners self-assess their asset's valuation and must be willing to sell at that price. | | [[notes/Hawthorne effect.md\|Hawthorne effect]] | The phenomenon where people alter their behaviour because they know they are being observed. | | [[notes/Heavenbanning.md\|Heavenbanning]] | A moderation practice of shadowbanning a user and having sycophantic bots engage with that user. | | [[notes/Hessdalen lights.md\|Hessdalen lights]] | Unexplained nocturnal lights observed in Norway’s Hessdalen valley, sparking various scientific and paranormal theories. | | [[notes/Heteronym.md\|Heteronym]] | Words spelled identically but with different pronunciations and meanings, such as ‘lead’ (to guide) and ‘lead’ (metal). | | [[notes/Hickam's dictum.md\|Hickam's dictum]] | A principle in medicine stating that patients can have multiple simultaneous diseases. | | [[notes/Hindsight bias.md\|Hindsight bias]] | The tendency to see events as having been predictable after they have already occurred. | | [[notes/Historian's fallacy.md\|Historian's fallacy]] | The error of judging past decisions by using current knowledge rather than the information available at the time. | | [[notes/HIV origins.md\|HIV origins]] | Scientific investigation into how the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) crossed from primates into humans. | | [[notes/Hock principle.md\|Hock principle]] | An insight that simple rules lead to complex and intelligent behavior, whereas complicated rules yield simple, stupid behavior. | | [[notes/Hofstadter’s butterfly.md\|Hofstadter’s butterfly]] | A fractal pattern that emerges in the energy levels of electrons in a lattice under a magnetic field, illustrating quantum chaos. | | [[notes/Hofstadter's law.md\|Hofstadter's law]] | The observation that tasks always take longer than expected, even when accounting for Hofstadter’s law itself. | | [[notes/Homograph.md\|Homograph]] | Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings, regardless of pronunciation. | | [[notes/Homonym.md\|Homonym]] | Words that share the same spelling and pronunciation but have different meanings. | | [[notes/Hopepunk.md\|Hopepunk]] | A literary and artistic genre that emphasizes optimism, resilience and radical kindness in the face of adversity. | | [[notes/Hormesis.md\|Hormesis]] | A dose–response phenomenon where a low dose of a harmful agent can have beneficial effects. | | [[notes/Horseshoe theory.md\|Horseshoe theory]] | The idea that the political far left and far right resemble each other more than either resembles the political centre. | | [[notes/Howler.md\|Howler]] | A mathematical fallacy where a correct result is derived by incorrect lines of reasoning. | | [[notes/Huang's law.md\|Huang's law]] | An observation that the performance of GPUs doubles approximately every two years, analogous to Moore’s law for CPUs. | | [[notes/Humanist manifesto.md\|Humanist manifesto]] | A series of declarations promoting secular humanism, ethics and human rights. | | [[notes/Hygiene hypothesis.md\|Hygiene hypothesis]] | The idea that a lack of exposure to microbes in early childhood can increase susceptibility to some diseases. | | [[notes/Hyperbolic discounting.md\|Hyperbolic discounting]] | The tendency to prefer smaller, sooner rewards over larger, later ones, with discount rates declining over time. | | [[notes/Hyperinflation and sovereign debt.md\|Hyperinflation and sovereign debt]] | The economic phenomenon where a government’s excessive debt leads to runaway inflation and currency devaluation. | | [[notes/Hyperobjects.md\|Hyperobjects]] | Objects so massively distributed in time and space that they defy normal perception, like climate change. | | [[notes/Hypertext.md\|Hypertext]] | A system of linking digital documents through clickable references, forming the basis of the World Wide Web. | | [[notes/Idea compass.md\|Idea compass]] | A conceptual tool that helps navigate between ideas. | | [[notes/Ideaverse.md\|Ideaverse]] | A conceptual space of all possible ideas and memes, akin to an ecosystem of thoughts. | | [[notes/Igon value problem.md\|Igon value problem]] | Situations where experts draw sweeping conclusions from small or dubious data sets, misusing statistics. | | [[notes/IKEA effect.md\|IKEA effect]] | The cognitive bias where people value things they have partly created more than equivalent items made by others. | | [[notes/Ikigai.md\|Ikigai]] | Japanese for the intersection of what one loves, is good at, can be paid for, and what the world needs. | | [[notes/Immortality.md\|Immortality]] | The indefinite extension of life, whether through biological, technological or spiritual means. | | [[notes/Immunity to Change.md\|Immunity to Change]] | A personal development framework that uncovers hidden competing commitments that block desired behavioural change. | | [[notes/Influencers.md\|Influencers]] | Individuals who leverage social media platforms to affect consumer behavior and public opinion through large followings. | | [[notes/Inspection paradox.md\|Inspection paradox]] | A probability paradox where sampling tends to overrepresent classes with larger sizes or longer durations. | | [[notes/Integrative bargaining.md\|Integrative bargaining]] | A negotiation approach aiming for mutual gains by addressing underlying interests rather than dividing fixed resources. | | [[notes/Interpretations of quantum mechanics.md\|Interpretations of quantum mechanics]] | Various theoretical frameworks that explain the mathematical formalism and predictions of quantum mechanics. | | [[notes/Intransitivity.md\|Intransitivity]] | The failure of a relation to be transitive, so that if A is related to B and B to C, A may not be related to C. | | [[notes/Inversion.md\|Inversion]] | A problem-solving technique where you consider the opposite or reverse scenario to gain insight or avoid pitfalls. | | [[notes/Inverted totalitarianism.md\|Inverted totalitarianism]] | A system where corporate power and political apathy undermine democratic principles without overt dictatorship. | | [[notes/Invisible hand.md\|Invisible hand]] | A metaphor for the self‑regulating behavior of markets where individuals’ pursuit of self‑interest can benefit society. | | [[notes/Iron law of oligarchy.md\|Iron law of oligarchy]] | Robert Michels’s thesis that organisations inevitably become dominated by a small elite, regardless of their democratic ideals. | | [[notes/Ironics.md\|Ironics]] | Expressions or concepts that combine irony and cynicism to critique prevailing norms or beliefs. | | [[notes/Irresistible force paradox.md\|Irresistible force paradox]] | A philosophical paradox asking what happens if an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. | | [[notes/Jakob's law.md\|Jakob's law]] | The user experience design principle that a website should follow common design conventions. | | [[notes/Jesus nut.md\|Jesus nut]] | The main rotor's retaining nut on some helicopters; its failure can lead to catastrophic rotor detachment. | | [[notes/Jevons paradox.md\|Jevons paradox]] | The phenomenon where increased efficiency in resource use leads to greater overall consumption of that resource. | | [[notes/Johari window.md\|Johari window]] | A model of interpersonal communication illustrating the different areas of self‑knowledge and public perception. | | [[notes/Jus sanguinis.md\|Jus sanguinis]] | Citizenship being determined by parentage. | | [[notes/Jus soli.md\|Jus soli]] | Citizenship being determined by place of birth. | | [[notes/Just culture.md\|Just culture]] | A culture that balances accountability and learning by distinguishing between honest mistakes and reckless behavior. | | [[notes/Just-world fallacy.md\|Just-world fallacy]] | The cognitive bias that assumes people get what they deserve and deserve what they get, leading to victim‑blaming. | | [[notes/Justified true belief.md\|Justified true belief]] | A classical definition of knowledge requiring a belief to be justified, true and held by the knower. | | [[notes/Kaprekar's constant.md\|Kaprekar's constant]] | The number 6174, which arises as the fixed point of an iterative process of rearranging and subtracting digits in base 10. | | [[notes/Kármán line.md\|Kármán line]] | An arbitrary altitude of 100 km above sea level used to define the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. | | [[notes/Kessler syndrome.md\|Kessler syndrome]] | A scenario where collisions between space debris create a cascade of fragments that can render orbits unusable. | | [[notes/Khinchin's constant.md\|Khinchin's constant]] | A mathematical constant (≈2.685) that appears in the geometric mean of the partial quotients of continued fractions. | | [[notes/Kidlin's law.md\|Kidlin's law]] | The principle that if you write down a problem clearly, you are halfway to solving it. | | [[notes/Kierkegaard’s leap of faith.md\|Kierkegaard’s leap of faith]] | The act of believing in something without rational proof, embracing paradox and uncertainty. | | [[notes/Kindchenschema.md\|Kindchenschema]] | The set of juvenile features (large eyes, round head) that evoke caretaking behaviours in adults. | | [[notes/Kindleberger Trap.md\|Kindleberger Trap]] | A situation where no single country is willing or able to provide global public goods, leading to instability. | | [[notes/KISS principle.md\|KISS principle]] | The design principle urging simplicity: Keep It Simple, Stupid. | | [[notes/Klein bottle.md\|Klein bottle]] | A non‑orientable surface with no distinct inside or outside, existing in four-dimensional space. | | [[notes/Knightian uncertainty.md\|Knightian uncertainty]] | Uncertainty that cannot be quantified with probabilities because future events are fundamentally unknowable. | | [[notes/Knowability continuum.md\|Knowability continuum]] | A proposal for a comprehensive framework of whether knowledge is achievable. | | [[notes/Knowledge is fractal.md\|Knowledge is fractal]] | The more you learn, the more you realize there is to learn, as knowledge expands like a fractal. | | [[notes/Kolmogorov complexity.md\|Kolmogorov complexity]] | The length of the shortest possible program that produces a given string, measuring its algorithmic randomness. | | [[notes/Kopfkino.md\|Kopfkino]] | German for "head cinema", referring to vivid, often involuntary mental imagery or daydreams. | | [[notes/Krasnikov tube.md\|Krasnikov tube]] | A theoretical construct in general relativity allowing for faster‑than‑light travel by altering spacetime along a path. | | [[notes/Kübler-Ross model.md\|Kübler-Ross model]] | A framework describing five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. | | [[notes/Lake Wobegon effect.md\|Lake Wobegon effect]] | The human tendency to overestimate one’s abilities relative to others, where everyone thinks they are above average. | | [[notes/Langlands program.md\|Langlands program]] | A set of conjectures connecting number theory, representation theory, and geometry, seeking a unified theory of mathematics. | | [[notes/Laplace's demon.md\|Laplace's demon]] | The hypothetical intellect that, knowing the precise position and momentum of every atom, could predict the future entirely. | | [[notes/Law of the instrument.md\|Law of the instrument]] | The bias of overreliance on a familiar tool, expressed as ‘If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail’. | | [[notes/Law of triviality.md\|Law of triviality]] | People give disproportionate attention to trivial issues while neglecting complex ones. | | [[notes/Learning.md\|Learning]] | The acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience or teaching. | | [[notes/Lehmann’s Laws.md\|Lehmann’s Laws]] | The acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience or teaching. | | [[notes/Lewis–Mogridge position.md\|Lewis–Mogridge position]] | The observation that the amount of traffic on roads increases to fill the available capacity, negating congestion relief. | | [[notes/Lex talionis.md\|Lex talionis]] | The retributive justice principle of "an eye for an eye". | | [[notes/Liar's paradox.md\|Liar's paradox]] | A self-referential logical paradox that arises when a statement refers to its own falsity. | | [[notes/Liebig's law of the minimum.md\|Liebig's law of the minimum]] | The principle that growth is limited by the scarcest resource rather than the total resources available. | | [[notes/Light cone.md\|Light cone]] | In relativity, the region of spacetime reachable by light from a given event, defining causal structure. | | [[notes/Limitarianism.md\|Limitarianism]] | The philosophical view that there should be upper limits on wealth to ensure fair distribution and social justice. | | [[notes/Lindy effect.md\|Lindy effect]] | The concept that the future life expectancy of a non‑perishable thing, like a book, increases with its current age. | | [[notes/Linguistic relativity.md\|Linguistic relativity]] | The hypothesis that the structure of a language influences its speakers’ cognition and worldview. | | [[notes/Lipschitz condition.md\|Lipschitz condition]] | The condition that functions change slowly, guaranteeing uniqueness and stability of solutions to differential equations. | | [[notes/Loaded question.md\|Loaded question]] | A question that contains a controversial or unjustified assumption, making it difficult to answer without appearing guilty. | | [[notes/Logical connectives.md\|Logical connectives]] | Operators such as AND, OR and NOT used in logic to build compound statements. | | [[notes/Logical paradox.md\|Logical paradox]] | A type of paradox where the flaw resides in the rules or assumptions. | | [[notes/Lorenz system.md\|Lorenz system]] | A set of three nonlinear differential equations that exhibit chaotic behavior and produce the famous "butterfly" attractor. | | [[notes/Loss leader strategy.md\|Loss leader strategy]] | A marketing tactic where a product is sold at a loss to attract customers who then purchase additional items at normal profit. | | [[notes/Lossy implications.md\|Lossy implications]] | Simplified statements that lose nuance or critical details when information is compressed or summarised. | | [[notes/Lovecraftian horror.md\|Lovecraftian horror]] | A subgenre of horror fiction focusing on cosmic dread, incomprehensible entities and the insignificance of humanity. | | [[notes/Lunarpunk.md\|Lunarpunk]] | A speculative aesthetic that imagines resilient, decentralised communities using technology to live sustainably and peacefully. | | [[notes/Make or buy.md\|Make or buy]] | A strategic decision to determine whether to produce goods internally or procure them from external suppliers. | | [[notes/Malkus waterwheel.md\|Malkus waterwheel]] | A mechanical device that demonstrates chaotic behaviour in fluid dynamics and time series. | | [[notes/Marchetti's constant.md\|Marchetti's constant]] | The empirical observation that humans spend roughly one hour per day travelling, regardless of transportation mode. | | [[notes/Markov chain.md\|Markov chain]] | A stochastic process where the probability of each state depends only on the previous state, exhibiting the Markov property. | | [[notes/Material constitution.md\|Material constitution]] | The metaphysical relationship between an object and the matter that composes it, exploring issues like change and persistence. | | [[notes/McKelvey–Schofield chaos theorem.md\|McKelvey–Schofield chaos theorem]] | A result in social choice theory suggesting that majority rule in multi‑dimensional policy spaces can yield chaotic outcomes. | | [[notes/Mean sojourn time.md\|Mean sojourn time]] | The expected time a stochastic process spends in a given state during an interval. | | [[notes/Mean world syndrome.md\|Mean world syndrome]] | The belief that the world is more dangerous than it actually is, often fueled by media consumption. | | [[notes/Meaning of life.md\|Meaning of life]] | Philosophical question concerning the purpose or significance of existence. | | [[notes/Measurement problem.md\|Measurement problem]] | In quantum mechanics, the measurement scale at which a quantum system transitions from superposition to a definite outcome. | | [[notes/Meat paradox.md\|Meat paradox]] | The paradox of caring for animals and yet eating them. | | [[notes/MECE principle.md\|MECE principle]] | A consulting framework ensuring that categories are Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive to avoid overlaps and gaps. | | [[notes/Memex.md\|Memex]] | A conceptual device that could store and quickly retrieve information through associative links, a precursor to hypertext. | | [[notes/Meta-complexity.md\|Meta-complexity]] | The study of the complexity of algorithms or systems that themselves analyse or generate complex structures. | | [[notes/Metcalfe's law.md\|Metcalfe's law]] | The value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users or devices. | | [[notes/Methodolatry.md\|Methodolatry]] | The excessive reverence for a particular research method at the expense of other approaches or the research question itself. | | [[notes/Mimetic theory of conflict.md\|Mimetic theory of conflict]] | The extension of Girard’s mimetic theory that explains how rivalry escalates to violence and scapegoating. | | [[notes/Mimetic theory of desire.md\|Mimetic theory of desire]] | René Girard’s theory that human desires are imitated from others and can lead to rivalry and conflict. | | [[notes/Minimum description length.md\|Minimum description length]] | A principle in information theory that the best model is the one that compresses data to the shortest total description length. | | [[notes/Minimum Effective Dose.md\|Minimum Effective Dose]] | The smallest dose of a substance or activity that yields the desired outcome without unnecessary excess. | | [[notes/Misophonia.md\|Misophonia]] | A condition where specific sounds trigger intense emotional or physical reactions, such as anger or anxiety. | | [[notes/Mitahara.md\|Mitahara]] | A yogic principle advocating moderate, balanced eating for health and spiritual well‑being. | | [[notes/Möbius strip.md\|Möbius strip]] | A surface with only one side and one boundary, formed by joining the ends of a strip of paper after twisting one end 180 degrees. | | [[notes/Moloch trap.md\|Moloch trap]] | A situation where individuals or groups engage in destructive competition because cooperation is unstable or unenforceable. | | [[notes/Monkeywrenching.md\|Monkeywrenching]] | Sabotage or disruption aimed at preventing environmentally damaging activities, often associated with radical environmentalism. | | [[notes/Mono no aware.md\|Mono no aware]] | Japanese for the appreciation of the impermanence of all things. | | [[notes/Monty Hall problem.md\|Monty Hall problem]] | A game show's probability puzzle that resists intuition. | | [[notes/Moore's law.md\|Moore's law]] | The observation that the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years. | | [[notes/Moral hazard.md\|Moral hazard]] | The tendency for one party to take risks because another party bears the costs of those risks. | | [[notes/Moral luck.md\|Moral luck]] | The philosophical notion that outcomes beyond a person’s control can affect judgments of their moral worth. | | [[notes/Moravec paradox.md\|Moravec paradox]] | The observation that high‑level reasoning requires little computation, while sensorimotor skills require a lot. | | [[notes/Mu.md\|Mu]] | A Japanese and Zen Buddhist term meaning ‘nothing’ or the answer ‘unasked question’, suggesting the invalidity of the question. | | [[notes/Multiplication.md\|Multiplication]] | The arithmetic operation of scaling one number by another, one of the four basic operations. | | [[notes/Naïve realism.md\|Naïve realism]] | The belief that we perceive the world as it truly is, without interpreting or constructing our perceptions. | | [[notes/Narrative web.md\|Narrative web]] | A concept emphasising how stories and narratives are interconnected and shape our understanding of the world. | | [[notes/Navier–Stokes equations.md\|Navier–Stokes equations]] | Fundamental partial differential equations that describe the motion of viscous fluid substances like liquids and gases. | | [[notes/Navigation problem.md\|Navigation problem]] | The concern that hypertexts enmesh readers in a confusing tangle of links. | | [[notes/Nazi bar.md\|Nazi bar]] | An adage that any unmoderated space eventually fills with extremists, likened to a bar that becomes dominated by Nazis. | | [[notes/Neijuan.md\|Neijuan]] | A Chinese term referring to involution—excessive competition and work without increased productivity or satisfaction. | | [[notes/Network society.md\|Network society]] | A social structure organized around digital flows of information. | | [[notes/Neuromorphic computing.md\|Neuromorphic computing]] | The design of computer architectures inspired by the structure and function of biological neural systems. | | [[notes/Newton's laws of motion.md\|Newton's laws of motion]] | Three fundamental laws formulated by Isaac Newton describing the relationship between forces and the motion of objects. | | [[notes/Nexialism.md\|Nexialism]] | A fictional philosophy advocating interdisciplinary integration to solve complex problems, coined in A.E. van Vogt’s science fiction. | | [[notes/Nine Zulu Queens Ruled China.md\|Nine Zulu Queens Ruled China]] | A mnemonic for the nesting of number sets. | | [[notes/Nirvana fallacy.md\|Nirvana fallacy]] | A logical fallacy of comparing a realistic solution with an idealized alternative and dismissing the fomer because it is imperfect. | | [[notes/Nitrogen blanket effect.md\|Nitrogen blanket effect]] | The slight narcotic effect of nitrogen in the air at sea level pressure. | | [[notes/No true Scotsman.md\|No true Scotsman]] | A fallacy in which one dismisses counterexamples by redefining a group to exclude them, preserving a generalisation. | | [[notes/Noblebright.md\|Noblebright]] | A speculative fiction subgenre featuring hopeful, morally good characters who strive for noble causes in a bright world. | | [[notes/Nolan chart.md\|Nolan chart]] | A political spectrum diagram mapping economic freedom against personal freedom to classify ideologies. | | [[notes/Non sequitur.md\|Non sequitur]] | A logical fallacy where a conclusion does not logically follow from the premises. | | [[notes/Nonlinear system.md\|Nonlinear system]] | A system in which outputs are not directly proportional to inputs and small changes can produce large effects. | | [[notes/Noosphere.md\|Noosphere]] | The sphere of human thought and consciousness, theorized to emerge from the interaction of minds and technology. | | [[notes/Norton's dome.md\|Norton's dome]] | A thought experiment in Newtonian mechanics demonstrating indeterminism. | | [[notes/Not all those who wander are lost.md\|Not all those who wander are lost]] | A popular line from J.R.R. Tolkien suggesting that exploration or unconventional paths do not imply aimlessness. | | [[notes/Not even wrong.md\|Not even wrong]] | A critique of ideas that cannot be falsified or tested scientifically, making them meaningless as scientific statements. | | [[notes/Novum.md\|Novum]] | In science fiction, the innovative element or premise that differentiates the story’s world from our own. | | [[notes/Nudge theory.md\|Nudge theory]] | The concept that small changes in choice architecture can influence behavior without restricting freedom. | | [[notes/Objective-collapse theory.md\|Objective-collapse theory]] | Interpretations of quantum mechanics where wave function collapse is a physical process rather than observation dependent. | | [[notes/Occam's razor.md\|Occam's razor]] | The heuristic principle that the simplest explanation consistent with the facts is usually preferable. | | [[notes/Oceanic feeling.md\|Oceanic feeling]] | A sense of boundless connection with the universe, often described in mysticism and psychoanalysis. | | [[notes/Okinawa diet.md\|Okinawa diet]] | A traditional Japanese eating pattern associated with longevity and consisting of vegetables, sweet potatoes, and moderate fish. | | [[notes/Omega Point.md\|Omega Point]] | A hypothesis that evolution is leading to a final point of maximum complexity and consciousness. | | [[notes/Orchestrated objective reduction.md\|Orchestrated objective reduction]] | The hypothesis linking consciousness to quantum processes in microtubules. | | [[notes/Order statistics.md\|Order statistics]] | Statistics derived from the ordered values of a sample, such as the minimum, maximum or median. | | [[notes/Orphism.md\|Orphism]] | An ancient Greek religious movement focusing on the soul’s purification and the afterlife. | | [[notes/Orthogonality.md\|Orthogonality]] | The concept of being statistically or logically independent; in geometry, lines or vectors at right angles to each other. | | [[notes/Ostrom’s principles.md\|Ostrom’s principles]] | Design principles for governing common‑pool resources sustainably without central regulation. | | [[notes/Overton window.md\|Overton window]] | The range of policies considered politically acceptable at a given time, which can shift due to public opinion and discourse. | | [[notes/Overview effect.md\|Overview effect]] | The cognitive shift reported by astronauts when viewing Earth from space. | | [[notes/Pablum fare.md\|Pablum fare]] | Material that is bland, simplistic or intellectually undemanding, akin to baby food. | | [[notes/Padārtha.md\|Padārtha]] | A Sanskrit term in Indian philosophy referring to categories of being or objects of thought. | | [[notes/Panopticon.md\|Panopticon]] | A ubiquitous and pervasive surveillance system that internalizes self-discipline. | | [[notes/Panspermia.md\|Panspermia]] | The hypothesis that life exists throughout the universe and can spread via meteoroids, comets or spacecraft. | | [[notes/Parable of the turkey.md\|Parable of the turkey]] | An illustrative failure in inductive reasoning: a turkey fed daily assumes it will always be fed until it is slaughtered. | | [[notes/Paradox of intolerance.md\|Paradox of intolerance]] | Karl Popper’s argument that unlimited tolerance leads to the rise of intolerant forces that can destroy tolerance itself. | | [[notes/Paradox.md\|Paradox]] | A statement that resists intution. | | [[notes/Pareidolia.md\|Pareidolia]] | The tendency to interpret vague stimuli as meaningful, such as seeing faces in clouds or patterns in noise. | | [[notes/Parkinson’s Law.md\|Parkinson’s Law]] | The adage that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. | | [[notes/Pascal, 1670.md\|Pascal, 1670]] | \- | | [[notes/Pascal's wager.md\|Pascal's wager]] | A life-defining gamble regarding the belief in the existence of God. | | [[notes/Pathogen avoidance.md\|Pathogen avoidance]] | Behaviours and mechanisms that reduce contact with disease‑causing agents, from disgust to public health measures. | | [[notes/Pauca sed matura.md\|Pauca sed matura]] | A Latin motto meaning ‘few but ripe’, encouraging focus on quality rather than quantity. | | [[notes/Peacocking.md\|Peacocking]] | Displaying ostentatious or flamboyant behaviour to attract attention or impress others. | | [[notes/Peak experience.md\|Peak experience]] | A moment of intense joy, creativity or fulfillment described in humanistic psychology by Abraham Maslow. | | [[notes/Peaking power syndrome.md\|Peaking power syndrome]] | The phenomenon where countries experience economic stagnation after reaching a certain level of development. | | [[notes/Penny gap.md\|Penny gap]] | The disproportionate drop in demand that occurs when a previously free product begins charging even a small fee. | | [[notes/Penny-doubling riddle.md\|Penny-doubling riddle]] | A thought experiment where a penny doubled daily for a month results in a surprisingly large sum. | | [[notes/Person from Porlock.md\|Person from Porlock]] | An allusion to an unwanted interruption that disrupts inspiration or productivity. | | [[notes/Personal monopoly.md\|Personal monopoly]] | A strategy where an individual builds a unique combination of skills and reputation that differentiates them in the market. | | [[notes/Perverse incentive.md\|Perverse incentive]] | An incentive that has unintended, undesirable results contrary to the original intention. | | [[notes/Peter principle.md\|Peter principle]] | The concept that people in a hierarchy tend to be promoted until they reach their level of incompetence. | | [[notes/Peto's paradox.md\|Peto's paradox]] | The observation that larger animals do not have higher cancer rates than smaller ones. | | [[notes/PhD.md\|PhD]] | A doctoral degree awarded for original research, advanced knowledge and scholarship in a specific discipline. | | [[notes/Philosophy of science.md\|Philosophy of science]] | The study of the foundations, methods, and implications of science. | | [[notes/Philosophy of subtraction.md\|Philosophy of subtraction]] | The ethos of stripping away the superfluous to reveal the underlying essence. | | [[notes/Planck's principle.md\|Planck's principle]] | The notion that scientific ideas change not because of persuasion but because their proponents die. | | [[notes/Planetary boundaries.md\|Planetary boundaries]] | Nine Earth system thresholds identified to maintain a safe operating space for humanity. | | [[notes/Plastic platypus learning.md\|Plastic platypus learning]] | A playful term for using simple, toy examples to test ideas and debug complex systems or algorithms. | | [[notes/Poe's law.md\|Poe's law]] | The adage that without obvious cues, satire and sincere extremism are indistinguishable on the internet. | | [[notes/Poincaré map.md\|Poincaré map]] | A method for reducing the dimensionality of a dynamical system. | | [[notes/Poincaré recurrence theorem.md\|Poincaré recurrence theorem]] | A theorem stating that certain systems will, after a sufficiently long time, return arbitrarily close to their initial state. | | [[notes/Polanyi’s paradox.md\|Polanyi’s paradox]] | The observation that we know more than we can tell; tacit knowledge is difficult to codify and automate. | | [[notes/Polymath.md\|Polymath]] | A person whose knowledge spans a significant number of subjects. | | [[notes/Polyseme.md\|Polyseme]] | A word with multiple related meanings, such as ‘head’ meaning body part, person or leader. | | [[notes/Pournelle's iron law of bureaucracy.md\|Pournelle's iron law of bureaucracy]] | The proposition that bureaucrats dedicated to the organization become more powerful than those dedicated to its mission. | | [[notes/Preference falsification.md\|Preference falsification]] | The act of misrepresenting one’s true preferences in public due to social pressure or fear of repercussions. | | [[notes/Preparedness paradox.md\|Preparedness paradox]] | The situation where effective precautionary measures lead to scepticism or complacency because disaster is averted. | | [[notes/Presentism.md\|Presentism]] | The anachronistic application of present-day perspectives and values to interpret past events. | | [[notes/Principal-agent problem.md\|Principal-agent problem]] | A situation where an agent has incentives to act in their own interest rather than that of the principal who employs them. | | [[notes/Principle of charity.md\|Principle of charity]] | A principle that suggests we should interpret others’ statements in their strongest, most rational form before critiquing them. | | [[notes/Principle of computational equivalence.md\|Principle of computational equivalence]] | The hypothesis that systems with simple rules can have computational abilities equivalent to more complex systems. | | [[notes/Principle of least astonishment.md\|Principle of least astonishment]] | The idea that a system should behave in a way that least surprises users, adhering to common conventions. | | [[notes/Probabilistic forecasting.md\|Probabilistic forecasting]] | Predicting future events by assigning probabilities to different outcomes based on data and models. | | [[notes/Problem of emergence.md\|Problem of emergence]] | Philosophical question about how higher-level properties arise from lower-level processes and whether they are reducible. | | [[notes/Problem of time.md\|Problem of time]] | In physics, the difficulty of reconciling the treatment of time in quantum mechanics with that in general relativity. | | [[notes/Project Xanadu.md\|Project Xanadu]] | A unfinished hypertext project aiming to create a universal library with bidirectional links and version control. | | [[notes/Proof that 1 = 2.md\|Proof that 1 = 2]] | A classic mathematical example of a falsidical paradox. | | [[notes/Propositional logic.md\|Propositional logic]] | A branch of logic dealing with propositions and their connectives, without internal structure. | | [[notes/Prospect-refuge theory.md\|Prospect-refuge theory]] | A psychology theory that people prefer spaces that offer both expansive views (prospect) and places to hide (refuge). | | [[notes/Pygmalion effect.md\|Pygmalion effect]] | The self-fulfilling phenomenon where higher expectations lead to improved performance. | | [[notes/Pyrrhonism.md\|Pyrrhonism]] | An ancient sceptical philosophy that advocates suspending judgement to achieve mental tranquility. | | [[notes/Pythagoreanism.md\|Pythagoreanism]] | The philosophical and religious teachings of Pythagoras, emphasising mathematics, harmony and the transmigration of souls. | | [[notes/Quantum entanglement.md\|Quantum entanglement]] | A phenomenon where particles become correlated such that the state of one cannot be described independently of the other. | | [[notes/Quantum eraser experiment.md\|Quantum eraser experiment]] | Experiments in quantum mechanics showing that interference patterns can be restored, challenging notions of causality. | | [[notes/Quantum mechanics, cellular automaton interpretation.md\|Quantum mechanics, cellular automaton interpretation]] | Gerard ’t Hooft’s proposal that quantum mechanics emerges from deterministic cellular automata at a deeper level. | | [[notes/Quantum theory of the mind.md\|Quantum theory of the mind]] | The hypothesis that quantum processes play a role in consciousness and cognitive functions. | | [[notes/Quiet and loud aliens.md\|Quiet and loud aliens]] | Hypothetical categories of extraterrestrials: quiet civilizations avoid broadcasting signals, while loud ones actively communicate. | | [[notes/Radical horizontalism.md\|Radical horizontalism]] | A rejection of hierarchy in decision making in favor of an inclusive democratic consensus. | | [[notes/Ramanujan summation.md\|Ramanujan summation]] | A method of assigning finite values to divergent series using analytic continuation and regularization techniques. | | [[notes/Reassortment.md\|Reassortment]] | The genetic process where two viruses exchange segments of their genomes, potentially creating new strains. | | [[notes/Redundancy.md\|Redundancy]] | The inclusion of extra components or functions in a system so that it continues operating if parts fail. | | [[notes/Reed's law.md\|Reed's law]] | The proposition that the utility of large networks, particularly social networks, scales exponentially with the size of the network. | | [[notes/Reification.md\|Reification]] | Treating an abstract concept as if it were a concrete thing or entity. | | [[notes/Resource curse.md\|Resource curse]] | The paradox where countries rich in natural resources experience slower economic growth than resource‑poor countries. | | [[notes/Retributive justice.md\|Retributive justice]] | A theory of justice that focuses on punishment proportional to the crime committed, emphasising moral accountability. | | [[notes/Reversion to the mean.md\|Reversion to the mean]] | The statistical phenomenon where extreme observations are likely to be followed by more average ones. | | [[notes/Ricardian contract.md\|Ricardian contract]] | A digital document that is both human‑readable and machine‑readable, acting as a binding agreement and a program. | | [[notes/Riemann hypothesis.md\|Riemann hypothesis]] | The nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function all lie on the critical line with real part 1/2. | | [[notes/Robustness principle.md\|Robustness principle]] | The directive in network design to be conservative in what you send and liberal in what you accept, ensuring interoperability. | | [[notes/Rosy retrospection.md\|Rosy retrospection]] | The tendency to remember past events more fondly than they were experienced at the time. | | [[notes/Royal we.md\|Royal we]] | The use of a plural pronoun by a single person, typically a monarch, to refer to themselves. | | [[notes/Rubberducking.md\|Rubberducking]] | The practice of explaining a problem aloud to an inanimate object in order to clarify one’s thinking and find a solution. | | [[notes/Russell conjugation.md\|Russell conjugation]] | The observation that words with similar denotations can evoke different emotions depending on how they are used. | | [[notes/Sacrifice.md\|Sacrifice]] | Giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy. | | [[notes/Satisficing.md\|Satisficing]] | Choosing an option that is good enough rather than the optimal one, balancing effort and outcome. | | [[notes/Saudade.md\|Saudade]] | A Portuguese term expressing a deep, nostalgic longing for something or someone absent. | | [[notes/SCAMPER.md\|SCAMPER]] | A creativity technique encouraging idea generation. | | [[notes/Scholarship of integration.md\|Scholarship of integration]] | A form of scholarship involving synthesizing information across disciplines to create new understanding. | | [[notes/Schrödinger equation.md\|Schrödinger equation]] | The fundamental equation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics describing how quantum states evolve over time. | | [[notes/Schrödinger's cat.md\|Schrödinger's cat]] | A thought experiment illustrating quantum superposition in which a cat is simultaneously alive and dead until observed. | | [[notes/Scunthorpe problem.md\|Scunthorpe problem]] | The unintended filtering of text by automated profanity filters that block innocent words containing offensive substrings. | | [[notes/Segal’s law.md\|Segal’s law]] | The adage that a man with a watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never sure. | | [[notes/Sehnsucht.md\|Sehnsucht]] | German for the bittersweet longing for something unattainable. | | [[notes/Self-constancy.md\|Self-constancy]] | The persistence of personal identity or character over time despite external changes. | | [[notes/Self-licking ice cream cone.md\|Self-licking ice cream cone]] | An organisation or process that exists primarily to perpetuate itself rather than fulfil its stated mission. | | [[notes/Self-organized criticality.md\|Self-organized criticality]] | A property of dynamical systems that naturally evolve to a critical state where minor events can trigger large responses. | | [[notes/Self.md\|Self]] | The concept of an individual’s identity, encompassing consciousness, personality and agency. | | [[notes/Semantic paradox.md\|Semantic paradox]] | A type of paradox where the flaw resides in the ambiguity of the language used to describe it. | | [[notes/Serendipity.md\|Serendipity]] | The occurrence of beneficial discoveries by chance or accident while seeking something else. | | [[notes/Serial position-negativity effect.md\|Serial position-negativity effect]] | The tendency to better recall items at the beginning and end of a list than those in the middle. | | [[notes/SETI.md\|SETI]] | The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, scientific efforts to detect signals or evidence of alien civilizations. | | [[notes/Shatter belt.md\|Shatter belt]] | A region caught between stronger external powers where persistent conflict and fragmentation occur. | | [[notes/Shedagogy.md\|Shedagogy]] | A playful term for self‑directed learning using resources and guidance outside formal education. | | [[notes/Ship of Theseus.md\|Ship of Theseus]] | A philosophical paradox questioning whether an object remains the same when all its components are replaced over time. | | [[notes/Shirky Principle.md\|Shirky Principle]] | The idea that institutions will try to preserve the problem they are meant to solve because their existence depends on it. | | [[notes/Shoshin.md\|Shoshin]] | A Zen Buddhist concept meaning ‘beginner’s mind’, encouraging openness, eagerness and freedom from preconceptions. | | [[notes/Sierpiński triangle.md\|Sierpiński triangle]] | A fractal composed of an equilateral triangle subdivided recursively into smaller triangles, exhibiting self‑similarity. | | [[notes/Simpson’s paradox.md\|Simpson’s paradox]] | The counter-intuitive disappearance or reversal of a group-level statistical trend once the data are combined. | | [[notes/Simulation hypothesis.md\|Simulation hypothesis]] | The proposition that reality might be a computer simulation created by an advanced civilisation. | | [[notes/Sin tax.md\|Sin tax]] | A tax on goods or services considered harmful, such as alcohol or tobacco, to discourage consumption. | | [[notes/Singularitarianism.md\|Singularitarianism]] | The belief that humanity will transcend biological limitations through technological singularity. | | [[notes/Smale’s horseshoe.md\|Smale’s horseshoe]] | A mathematical mapping demonstrating chaos, stretching and folding a region like a horseshoe. | | [[notes/Solarpunk.md\|Solarpunk]] | A utopian movement envisioning futures powered by renewable energy, community resilience, and harmony with nature. | | [[notes/Solecism.md\|Solecism]] | A grammatical mistake or nonstandard usage of language; in rhetoric, a blunder in speech. | | [[notes/Solipsism.md\|Solipsism]] | The philosophical idea that only one’s own mind is sure to exist; everything else could be an illusion. | | [[notes/Sorites paradox.md\|Sorites paradox]] | Small incremental changes lead from one category to another without a clear boundary in between. | | [[notes/Sousveillance.md\|Sousveillance]] | The bottom-up surveillance of the authorities by individual citizens. | | [[notes/Spaghettification.md\|Spaghettification]] | The process by which objects stretched by tidal forces near a black hole are drawn out into long thin shapes. | | [[notes/Specialization.md\|Specialization]] | The practice of focusing on a narrow area of expertise, often increasing efficiency and proficiency. | | [[notes/Speciesism.md\|Speciesism]] | The assignment of different moral value or rights to beings based solely on their species. | | [[notes/Specificity paradox.md\|Specificity paradox]] | The phenomenon where adding specificity to a claim can make it less persuasive by triggering skepticism or doubt. | | [[notes/Sputnik moment.md\|Sputnik moment]] | An event that galvanizes a nation to invest in science and technology. | | [[notes/Statue-clay problem.md\|Statue-clay problem]] | A metaphysical puzzle about whether a statue and the lump of clay that constitutes it are the same object or distinct. | | [[notes/Steelmanning.md\|Steelmanning]] | The practice of constructing the strongest version of someone else’s argument before evaluating or critiquing it. | | [[notes/Stein’s law.md\|Stein’s law]] | The proposition that if something cannot go on forever, it will stop; associated with economist Herb Stein. | | [[notes/Stochastic terrorism.md\|Stochastic terrorism]] | Public demagoguery that implicitly encourages violence by extremists through ambiguous or incendiary rhetoric. | | [[notes/Stranded assets.md\|Stranded assets]] | Assets that have lost economic value due to changes like regulation or market shifts. | | [[notes/Strauss–Howe generational theory.md\|Strauss–Howe generational theory]] | A theory positing a recurring generational cycle in history, with four archetypal generations repeating every 80–90 years. | | [[notes/Strong and weak link problems.md\|Strong and weak link problems]] | The distinction between systems where either the strongest or the weakest link determines overall performance. | | [[notes/Strong opinion, loosely held (SOLH).md\|Strong opinion, loosely held (SOLH)]] | When one advocates for a position while remaining willing to revise it when presented with new evidence. | | [[notes/Sub rosa.md\|Sub rosa]] | Latin for "under the rose", signifying confidentiality or secrecy. | | [[notes/Śūnyatā.md\|Śūnyatā]] | A Buddhist concept of emptiness, asserting that all phenomena lack intrinsic, independent existence. | | [[notes/Superdeterminism.md\|Superdeterminism]] | An interpretation of quantum mechanics suggesting all events, including measurement choices, are predetermined. | | [[notes/Supernormal stimulus.md\|Supernormal stimulus]] | An exaggerated artificial stimulus that elicits a stronger response than the natural stimulus it mimics. | | [[notes/Synopticon.md\|Synopticon]] | A societal surveillance system where the many watch the few. | | [[notes/T-shaped skills.md\|T-shaped skills]] | A talent profile combining deep expertise in one area with broad knowledge across disciplines. | | [[notes/Table selection.md\|Table selection]] | The strategy of choosing which contests or opportunities to enter based on the number and skill level of competitors. | | [[notes/Table stakes.md\|Table stakes]] | The minimum requirements or essentials needed to compete in a particular market or activity. | | [[notes/Tang ping.md\|Tang ping]] | Chinese for "lying flat", describing rejection of intense competition and embracing a more relaxed life. | | [[notes/Tarpit idea.md\|Tarpit idea]] | A seductive project or problem that consumes time and resources without yielding significant progress. | | [[notes/Technological singularity.md\|Technological singularity]] | A future where technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible. | | [[notes/Teleology.md\|Teleology]] | The philosophical account that interprets phenomena by their purpose or goal rather than cause. | | [[notes/Temporal parochialism.md\|Temporal parochialism]] | The assumption that the concerns and values of the present time are universally important across all times. | | [[notes/Ten stages of genocide.md\|Ten stages of genocide]] | Gregory Stanton’s framework outlining warning signs and stages that societies may pass through on the path to genocide. | | [[notes/Tetractys.md\|Tetractys]] | A triangular figure with rows of one, two, three and four points symbolising harmony and the cosmos in Pythagoreanism. | | [[notes/Teumessian fox.md\|Teumessian fox]] | A mythical fox destined never to be caught, pursued by a dog destined to catch everything, creating a paradox. | | [[notes/The computer vs. the casino.md\|The computer vs. the casino]] | The two communities most represented in Web3: those interested in the technology and those in making money. | | [[notes/The debtor’s paradox.md\|The debtor’s paradox]] | A paradox where a debtor argues they are not the same person who incurred the debt because they have changed over time. | | [[notes/The dose makes the poison.md\|The dose makes the poison]] | A toxicology maxim meaning that a substance’s harmfulness depends on its dose; even water can be toxic in excess. | | [[notes/The fox and the cat.md\|The fox and the cat]] | A fable contrasting the value of having many strategies (fox) versus mastering one strategy (cat) for survival. | | [[notes/The map is not the territory.md\|The map is not the territory]] | The idea that representations of reality, such as models or maps, are simplifications and not the same as reality itself. | | [[notes/The medium is the message.md\|The medium is the message]] | Marshall McLuhan’s theory that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, influencing how the message is perceived. | | [[notes/The old man lost his horse.md\|The old man lost his horse]] | An ancient Chinese parable showing that events considered good or bad can have unpredictable future consequences. | | [[notes/The other butterfly effect.md\|The other butterfly effect]] | A variant of the butterfly effect emphasizing that small positive actions can also lead to significant beneficial outcomes. | | [[notes/The puzzle of Dion and Theon.md\|The puzzle of Dion and Theon]] | A thought experiment about identity over time, raising questions about persistence. | | [[notes/The Rule of 48.md\|The Rule of 48]] | A reminder that scientists may overlook mistakes in the extant literature and take them for established facts. | | [[notes/The Seven Sins of Memory.md\|The Seven Sins of Memory]] | A classification of memory errors. | | [[notes/The teleological suspension of the ethical.md\|The teleological suspension of the ethical]] | Kierkegaard’s idea that faith may require temporarily setting aside ethical norms to fulfil a divine command. | | [[notes/The tyranny of structurelessness.md\|The tyranny of structurelessness]] | When there is no org chart, there is an invisible org chart. | | [[notes/The wisdom of paradox.md\|The wisdom of paradox]] | The insight that apparent contradictions or paradoxes can reveal deeper truths or insights. | | [[notes/Theory of constraints.md\|Theory of constraints]] | A management philosophy that focuses on identifying and alleviating the bottleneck that limits the performance of a system. | | [[notes/Theory U.md\|Theory U]] | A leadership framework that guides participants through stages of observing, retreating, and prototyping to co‑create the future. | | [[notes/Third place.md\|Third place]] | A term for informal public places that foster community outside home (first place) and work (second place). | | [[notes/Three prisoners problem.md\|Three prisoners problem]] | A game theory puzzle that resists intuition. | | [[notes/Thucydides Trap.md\|Thucydides Trap]] | The theory that rising powers often instigate conflicts with established powers. | | [[notes/Time of useful consciousness.md\|Time of useful consciousness]] | The period during which a pilot can perform useful tasks after oxygen deprivation at high altitude before losing consciousness. | | [[notes/Time preference.md\|Time preference]] | An economic concept describing the degree to which people value present consumption over future consumption. | | [[notes/Transhumanism.md\|Transhumanism]] | A movement advocating the use of technology to enhance human abilities and overcome biological limitations. | | [[notes/Transition risks.md\|Transition risks]] | Potential financial risks stemming from the shift to a low‑carbon economy, including regulatory and market changes. | | [[notes/Transitivity.md\|Transitivity]] | A mathematical property where if A is related to B and B to C, then A is related to C; important in ordering relations. | | [[notes/Travelling salesman problem.md\|Travelling salesman problem]] | An optimisation problem seeking the shortest possible route visiting a set of cities exactly once and returning to the origin city. | | [[notes/Tsundoku.md\|Tsundoku]] | The practice of acquiring books and letting them pile up without reading them. | | [[notes/Twin prime conjecture.md\|Twin prime conjecture]] | The hypothesis that there are infinitely many pairs of prime numbers that differ by two. | | [[notes/Typed link.md\|Typed link]] | A hyperlink that includes metadata specifying the type or semantics of the link, useful for machine‑readable web data. | | [[notes/Ultracrepidarianism.md\|Ultracrepidarianism]] | The habit of giving opinions and advice on subjects outside one’s knowledge or expertise. | | [[notes/Umwelt.md\|Umwelt]] | The environment as subjectively perceived by an organism. | | [[notes/Unity of science.md\|Unity of science]] | The belief that all scientific fields are fundamentally linked and can be reduced to a common set of principles. | | [[notes/Unknown unknowns.md\|Unknown unknowns]] | Donald Rumsfeld’s phrase for things we do not know we don’t know. | | [[notes/V-model.md\|V-model]] | A project management methodology depicting development and testing stages as diverging and converging branches. | | [[notes/Varna.md\|Varna]] | Hinduism's fourfold classification of society into functional divisions. | | [[notes/Varnāśrama Dharma.md\|Varnāśrama Dharma]] | Hinduism's integrated system of social order. | | [[notes/Veblen goods.md\|Veblen goods]] | Products whose demand increases as their price rises, due to their status signalling function. | | [[notes/Vegetarianism.md\|Vegetarianism]] | The practice of abstaining from consuming meat, often for ethical, environmental or health reasons. | | [[notes/Vela incident.md\|Vela incident]] | The unexplained double flash detected by a U.S. satellite in 1979, suspected to be a clandestine nuclear test. | | [[notes/Veridical paradox.md\|Veridical paradox]] | A paradox in which reasoning appears counterintuitive yet its conclusion is true. | | [[notes/Via negativa.md\|Via negativa]] | An approach to knowledge or theology that defines things by what they are not, rather than by what they are. | | [[notes/Vicious abstractionism.md\|Vicious abstractionism]] | Alfred North Whitehead’s term for overly abstract thinking that disconnects concepts from practical reality. | | [[notes/Vitalism.md\|Vitalism]] | The discredited doctrine that living organisms are different from non‑living entities because of a non-physical vital force. | | [[notes/Voight-Kampff test.md\|Voight-Kampff test]] | A fictional empathy assessment tool meant to distinguish replicants from humans. | | [[notes/VSRE.md\|VSRE]] | A convention for very short email replies. | | [[notes/VUCA.md\|VUCA]] | An acronym describing environments characterised by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. | | [[notes/Warnock's dilemma.md\|Warnock's dilemma]] | The uncertainty about whether a lack of response to online content means agreement, indifference, or absence of readers. | | [[notes/Wheat-and-chessboard problem.md\|Wheat-and-chessboard problem]] | A mathematical exercise illustrating exponential growth by doubling grains of wheat on each square of a chessboard. | | [[notes/Wheeler-DeWitt equation.md\|Wheeler-DeWitt equation]] | A theoretical equation combining general relativity and quantum mechanics, notable for lacking an explicit time term. | | [[notes/Whig history.md\|Whig history]] | An interpretation of history that sees it as a progression toward ever greater liberty and enlightenment. | | [[notes/White Earth climate.md\|White Earth climate]] | A hypothetical climate state where the Earth becomes entirely ice-covered, reflecting most sunlight and remaining cold. | | [[notes/Wiedersehen.md\|Wiedersehen]] | German for "seeing again" and a metaphor for reunion in the afterlife. | | [[notes/Wigner’s Friend.md\|Wigner’s Friend]] | A thought experiment in quantum mechanics exploring the role of observers and the relativity of quantum measurements. | | [[notes/Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest.md\|Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest]] | A phrase attributed to King Henry II, historically interpreted as incitement leading to the murder of Thomas Becket. | | [[notes/Wolf, goat and cabbage problem.md\|Wolf, goat and cabbage problem]] | A classic puzzle involving sequencing and constraints. | | [[notes/Work with the garage door up.md\|Work with the garage door up]] | A metaphor for working openly and sharing progress publicly to receive feedback and foster collaboration. | | [[notes/Working on vs. working in.md\|Working on vs. working in]] | A distinction emphasizing the difference between strategic development and day‑to‑day operations. | | [[notes/Workout paradox.md\|Workout paradox]] | The observation that the human body burns calories based on a preset metabolism rate rather than activity levels. | | [[notes/Wright's law.md\|Wright's law]] | An empirical law stating that each time cumulative production doubles, costs decrease by a constant percentage. | | [[notes/Xennials.md\|Xennials]] | A microgeneration born between Generation X and Millennials, typically between the late 1970s and early 1980s. | | [[notes/Zakkyo.md\|Zakkyo]] | A Japanese term for ambient noise or chatter, particularly in urban environments. | | [[notes/Zeigarnik effect.md\|Zeigarnik effect]] | The psychological phenomenon where uncompleted or interrupted tasks are remembered better than completed ones. | | [[notes/Zero-sum game.md\|Zero-sum game]] | A situation in game theory where one participant’s gain is exactly balanced by another’s loss. | | [[notes/Zero-tolerance.md\|Zero-tolerance]] | A strict legal stance on non-discretionary enforcement of the law. | | [[notes/Zeteticism.md\|Zeteticism]] | An approach to inquiry that emphasizes ongoing investigation and skepticism. | | [[notes/Zettelkasten.md\|Zettelkasten]] | A personal knowledge management system using linked, atomic notes to facilitate idea generation and retrieval. | | [[notes/Zeugma.md\|Zeugma]] | A figure of speech in which one word governs two or more other words but differs in meaning when applied to each. | | [[notes/Zugzwang.md\|Zugzwang]] | A chess position in which any legal move a player makes will worsen their situation. |