Very often I see people with arbitrary conceptions. May it be the language war, or adaption to a new technology.

The Farmville theory

People were crazy about Farmville. Two conclusions: First, people feel just because they spend time in some activity, it must be important. Second, self-satisfaction is not enough — humans need appreciation from peers.

False pattern recognition

Our brains are wired to make sense of incomplete data. Pattern recognition is a two-way sword — the prime reason humans are at the top of the food chain, but false pattern recognition leads to flawed reasoning.

Three rules from Cosmos:

1. Test ideas by experiment — take the ones that pass, reject the ones that don’t
2. Take the evidence wherever it leads
3. Question everything

Reasoning should be based on tangible evidence.