Something You Should Know

How Your Biases Are Used Against You & How Top Performers Think -SYSK Choice

20 snips
Mar 28, 2026
Eric Potterat, clinical and performance psychologist and retired Navy commander who trained SEALs, and Alex Edmans, finance professor and author on how stories exploit biases, discuss how our biases shape beliefs and decisions. They cover confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, skepticism toward headlines, mental toughness routines, paced breathing, self-talk, and incremental growth for peak performance.
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ADVICE

Consider The Opposite To Reduce Bias

  • Counteract bias by deliberately considering the opposite outcome when evaluating a study or claim.
  • Imagine how you'd attack the opposite finding, then apply the same scrutiny to evidence you initially like.
ADVICE

Treat Headlines Like Research And Check Causation

  • Treat media, blogs, and headlines as condensed research and ask whether they show correlation or causation.
  • Look for selective anecdotes, hidden confounders (e.g., breastfeeding correlated with supportive home environment), and sample selection.
INSIGHT

Not All Studies Are Equally Useful

  • Easy access to information lets anyone marshal studies to support any position, so quality matters more than existence of studies.
  • Focus on research quality and whether findings are relevant to your situation before changing behavior.
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