Mind Over Matter: The Science of Cognitive Biases and How They Affect Our Decisions

Cognitive bias is a term used to describe the human tendency to make decisions based on subjective factors rather than objective data. This can lead to errors in judgment and decision-making, as well as a distorted view of reality. There are many different types of cognitive biases, including confirmation bias, where people seek out information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs, and availability bias, where people make decisions based on the information that is most readily available to them, rather than seeking out all available information. Cognitive biases can have a significant impact on many areas of life, from personal relationships to business decisions. For example, confirmation bias can lead people to make decisions based on limited information, without considering all available data. Availability bias can lead people to overestimate the likelihood of rare events because they are more memorable. It's important to be aware of cognitive biases and work to mitigate their effects. This can be done by seeking out diverse perspectives and information sources, actively challenging pre-existing beliefs, and being mindful of the subjective factors that may be influencing decision-making. By understanding and addressing cognitive biases, individuals can make more informed and objective decisions, leading to better outcomes in both personal and professional settings.  

Weird list of phobias

When next time you see people fearing ghosts or sight of blood don’t consider them weird though. Here’s a list of more irrational phobias. Ergophobia: fear of work This is the fear of work places and finding employment. People who suffer from this phobia feel anxiety when assigned some tasks or asked to present before colleagues. This can be a subset of social fear, wherein people fear socializing and public events. Hypnophobia: fear of sleep People with this phobia fear of losing control over themselves and nightmares. This leads to rapid breathing, fast heart beats, nausea, dreadful thoughts, sweating in extreme cases. Hylophobia: fear of trees This a very irrational fear of woods and dense forests.These kind of fears often exaggerates after the phobic sees something unpleasant happening amidst dense trees. Usually in movies there are scary scenes where you find a serial killer following its target in the forest and hiding behind the trees for attacking. Thus when the phobic comes across such places instead of enjoying the ambience they start assuming presence of such a killer and other frightening situations. They start screaming, yelling and get panic attacks. Oneirophobia: fear of dreams People usually have this phobia due to two main reasons. Either they constantly get nightmares or they get same unpleasant dream continuously related to their lives which throws a negative impact thinking it might happen in real. This leads to insomnia and health issues. Fructophobia: fear of fruits Sufferers often avoid eating fruits and fruit flavoured eatables. They fear that the seeds of the fruits might germinate inside their bodies and get infested with worms and insects. Fructophobia causesvictims to weep, faint, heavy breathing. The phobia can be treated with the help of behavioural therapy and anti-anxiety medications. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: fear of long words The name itself justifies it. It seems to be a very funny phobia and hard to believe that it exists. But it does! Nobody is born with this phobia. It develops due to some unpleasant happening with respect to it. Some don’t even remember how the fear started. There are mental, emotional and physical reactions to this phobia. Sufferer gets dreadful with the thought of such long words and starts trembling even weeping. Some even get a full blown panic attacks on sight of long words. This phobia can be treated that analyzing the factors that lead to this phobia and working over it. Triskaidekaphobia: fear of number 13 Most people avoid number 13 due to traditional belief of this day being an ill omen that brings bad luck. Even airlines and hotels avoid number 13 on seats, rooms, floors. People with this phobia might trigger it if any unpleasant episode happens in his or her life on 13. People with this phobia will avoid anything related to number 13. They will get terror attacks on the 13th of every month and will be in fear constantly. Achondroplasiaphobia: fear of dwarfs People with this phobia are often afraid of small things and midgets. Pregnant women with this phobia have a hard time after they see a dwarf. An extreme case reported was that a pregnant women saw a dwarf after which she started thinking that her unborn child would also be a dwarf and this stress led to eventual miscarriage. Psychotherapy is one of the effective ways of treating this phobia.