Fascinating Concepts That Offer Perspective on How the Internet Makes Us Crazy

How is it that someone can be perfectly affable and charming in person, and an absolute nightmare of a human on social media? Why does it feel like we're all walking around in a cloud of paranoia all the time? Why is it increasingly difficult to discern which information is true and which is fake? Psychology buff @g_s_bhogal might have some answers. In a follow-up tweet to an insightful mega-thread of 40 psychology concepts, @g_s_bhogal explained that his goal "is to help people avoid the psychological traps that litter the online and offline worlds." As someone who spends 60% of their waking life on the internet, I can attest that many of the concepts @g_s_bhogal shared are useful to keep in the back of the mind. We're sharing the thread here for our fellow internet-poisoned friends who are seeking some semblance of sanity, but be sure to follow @g_s_bhogal on Twitter for more insights.  

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  • Social Proof

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d Replying to @G_S_Bhogal 1. Social Proof: When unsure how to act, people copy others, outsourcing their decisions. When Sylvan Goldman invented shopping trolleys, people didn't want to use them because they seemed silly. So Goldman paid actors to use trolleys in his stores, and everyone quickly followed. 22 27 511 6,611
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Can we do this for returning the cart do its designated area?

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  • Twyman's Law

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d 2. Twyman's Law: The more notable the data, the more likely it's wrong. This is because errors and data manipulation are far more common than genuine notable (i.e. surprising) results. Conversely, the more boring the data, the more trustworthy. 28 27 410 4,981
    via @g_s_bhogal

    We can probably blame clickbait for this.

  • Spotlight Effect

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 3. Spotlight Effect: We often get the anxious feeling that our every move is being scrutinized by others. The truth is, no one is paying as much attention to you as you are. People are too concerned with how they appear to others to care much about how you appear to them. 38 27 832 7,244
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Also known as "main character syndrome."

  • Relative Privation

    Organism - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 4. Relative Privation: An all-too-common fallacy where people dismiss a concern because something else is worse. "How can you talk about X when Y is happening?" By this logic, how can anyone ever talk about anything other than literally the single worst thing in the universe? 19 27 684 6,271
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Everything is relative.

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  • Expectation Effect

    Bird - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 5. Expectation Effect: What you see is influenced by what you expect to see. In one example, researchers Peter & Susanne Brugger showed people this picture. In October, most people saw a duck. During Easter, most people saw a bunny. h/t: @d_a_robson 28 27 343 4,071
    via @g_s_bhogal

    I expected the bunny but now I can't unsee the duck. 

  • Shirky Principle

    World - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 6. Shirky Principle: Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution. It's the best way to ensure their survival and growth. Examples include planned obsolescence and the various “industrial complexes" (military, prison, pharmaceutical, etc). 54 27 1,104 6,044
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Conspiracy theory: The Avengers wreak havoc on the planet to stay relevant and necessary. 

  • Gibson's Law

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 7. Gibson's Law: “For every PhD, there is an equal and opposite PhD." In matters of law & policy, anyone can find a subject-matter expert who supports their view, because having a PhD doesn't necessarily make someone right, it often just makes them more skilled at being wrong. 26 27 806 6,178
    via @g_s_bhogal

    A good lawyer is a good liar. 

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  • Noise Bottlenecks

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 8. Noise Bottlenecks: Consuming online content makes us feel like we're learning, but 90% of the content is useless junk: small talk, clickbait, marketing. We're filling our heads with noise, which is drowning out signal. As such, we feel we're getting smarter as we get stupider. 60 27 1,195 6,943
    via @g_s_bhogal

    In other words, go outside and touch grass.

  • Belief Perseverance

    Cloud - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d 9. Belief Perseverance: Our opinions are like bricks in masonry; each supports & is supported by others. Changing a belief means tearing down all beliefs atop it. Such demolition is hard to bear (easier to live with a skewed building) so people will rarely let that 1 brick budge. 20 27 484 3,907
    via @g_s_bhogal

    The "milk crate challenge" of belief systems. 

  • Proteus Effect

    World - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d 10. Proteus Effect: In virtual spaces, people become like their avatars. For instance, using a "sexy" avatar tends to make a person more flirtatious. This suggests people's personalities are largely a performance choreographed to social expectations. 28 27 347 3,604
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Did I create my Sim in my own image, or am I slowly becoming my Sim?

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  • Narrative-Market Fit

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d 11. Narrative-Market Fit: News & commentary are products, so they follow market pressures. The more a story fits a fashion or meets a strong consumer demand, the more likely it has been crafted purely for audience engagement, and the less you should trust it.
    via @g_s_bhogal

    *Cue monkey puppet awkwardly looking away meme*

  • Fredkin's Paradox

    Organism - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 12. Fredkin's Paradox: The more similar two choices seem, the less the decision should matter, yet the harder it is to choose between them. As a result, we often spend the most time on the decisions that matter least. 22 27 530 5,251
    via @g_s_bhogal

    When the server asks how you want your eggs and you start sweating.

  • Cunningham's Law

    World - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d 13. Cunningham's Law: The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question, but to post the wrong answer, because people online are more interested in criticizing people than helping them. 40 ĈI 1,397 8,179
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Maybe this explains why so many bad takes go insanely viral.

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  • Audience Capture

    Head - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 14. Audience Capture: Many influencers make their name by attacking cultural foes. Their growing audience demands ever more attacks, so, like Aztec priests trying to keep the rain flowing, they get trapped in a cycle of offering blood sacrifices to appease unseen entities. 9 27 323 2,599
    via @g_s_bhogal

    cough Kanye cough 

  • Burying the Lede

    Slope - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 15. Burying The Lede: If a journalist wants to downplay the most important aspect of a story, they'll bury it at the bottom of their article and mention it as briefly as possible. They'll also reframe their headline and narrative to emphasize other aspects, like so: China's military spending has risen steadily over the past decade (Military expenditure per capita, in dollars) 3,000 Isti delis. U.S. 2,000 prw 1,000 Russia China th 0 2012 '14 '16 '18 '20 veals So
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Journalists are just word magicians. 

  • Ben Franklin Effect

    World - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 16. Ben Franklin Effect: Getting someone who dislikes you to do you a favor can get them to like you, as people's identities are a story they tell themselves, and if they're kind to you they need to square their actions with their identity, so they tell themselves they like you. 10 27 255 3,544
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Brb, asking all my enemies to do my laundry. 

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  • Mismatch Theory

    Gesture - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 17. Mismatch Theory: Moths evolved to navigate by the moon, a good strategy until the invention of electric lamps, which now lead them astray. Equally, humans evolved to be tribal, a good strategy until the Digital Age, where it now leads us to act like polarized goons online. 14 27 614 4,690
    via @g_s_bhogal

    We're all just moths led astray. 

  • Agent Detection

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 18. Agent Detection: For aeons, it was safer to presume an unusual arrangement was designed by an intelligence than that it was natural. This helped us avoid traps. The result is that we've evolved to presume anything unusual is designed. Hence creationism & conspiracy theories. 15 27 313 3,160
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Okay, but my dishwasher really is listening to all my conversations. 

  • Problem Selling

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d 19. Problem Selling: Problem-solvers take an issue and break it down into small solvable chunks. Problem- sellers (e.g. politicians, the press) do the opposite: bundling many small issues into one big problem that looks insurmountable and terrifying. h/t: @BoyanSlat O 10 27 722 4,760
    via @g_s_bhogal

    No wonder nothing ever gets done around here. 

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  • Hyperbolic Discounting

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 20. Hyperbolic Discounting: Just as objects far away seem smaller, so do things far into our future. As a result, we are inclined to choose immediate rewards over future ones, even when these immediate rewards are much smaller. To overcome this bias, use @navaľ's Compass: Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal AVAL'S COMPASS rou can't decide between two choices, take the pa at's more difficult/painful in the short term. This is cause the brain tends to exaggerate the impact of o
    via @g_s_bhogal

    This is why I can't count calories. Getting in shape feels so far away, whereas this donut is right here in front of me…

  • Generation Effect

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 21. Generation Effect: The best way to understand a topic is not to read about it, but write about it. The act of explaining something helps one to connect the dots and commit them to memory far better than the passive act of reading. (One reason I make these megathreads!) 35 2I 485 4,828
    via @g_s_bhogal

    So that's why they always made us take notes in class.

  • Guerilla Information War

    World - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 22. Guerrilla Information War: Conquerors once expanded territory by seizing land, but with the Digital Age it became more efficient to expand virtually by seizing minds. World War III is already happening, but it's being fought not for land but for clout. 21 27 370 2,571
    via @g_s_bhogal

    *Brain exploding emoji*

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  • Extended Cognition

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 23. Extended Cognition: Our eyes are no longer our eyes. They've been reduced to optic nerves relaying what's seen by our new sense organs: phones & computers. We now see much more, but by extending our nervous systems outside ourselves, we've exposed them to a vulturous world. 6 27 129 1,656
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Maybe our eyes were always just input devices for sensory information. 

  • 48-Hour Rule

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 24. 48-Hour Rule: Our minds are in constant flux, and our stated opinions are often just flickers of untamed inspiration that we'd disown upon reflection. So, what if we had a 48 hour grace period to reflect on and retract our words before we were judged? h/t: @ScottAdamsSays 7 27 113 1,840
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Shh, don't tell Twitter.

  • Irony

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d ... 25. Irony: On reflection, I no longer think this is a workable plan: Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 24. 48-Hour Rule: Our minds are in constant flux, and our stated opinions are often just flickers of untamed inspiration that we'd disown upon reflection. So, what if we had a 4.. Show this thread 13 27 62 1,913
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Nicely done.

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  • Curse of Dimensionality

    Light - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 26. Curse of Dimensionality: The more detailed you make your data, the less insightful it becomes. Adding just 1 extra parameter to a graph causes the graph's volume to expand exponentially, dispersing the contained datapoints and negating meaningful associations between them. D - 4 regions b) 2D - 16 regions c) 3D - 64 regions 20 15 10 0 0 0 0O D0 5 10 10 15 20 10 15 20 15 20 0 20 2I 155 1,765
    via @g_s_bhogal

    But it might make for a really funny political compass meme. 

  • Reactive Devaluation

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 27. Reactive Devaluation: We judge a message by the messenger. In 2002, researchers Moaz et al showed Israelis a Palestine peace plan. When told it was authored by Palestinians, the participants rated it as far less fair than when told it was authored by the Israeli government. 13 27 255 2,538
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Don't shoot the messenger!

  • Van Restorff Effect

    World - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d 28. Van Restorff Effect: Things that stand out are more likely to be remembered. As such, news stories that are most unrepresentative of reality tend to be our most persistent representations of reality. 10 27 229 2,265
    via @g_s_bhogal

    RIP Harambe.

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  • Trait Ascription Bias

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 29. Trait Ascription Bias: We tend to view ourselves as having a fluid personality that adapts to the environment, while viewing others as having fixed personalities. "l acted unreasonably because I was under pressure. He acted unreasonably because that's just who he is." 16 27 300 2,796
    via @g_s_bhogal

    "We are not the same."

  • Wittgenstein's Ruler

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d ... 30. Wittgenstein's Ruler The less you know of the measurer compared to the thing being measured, the less the measure measures the measured and the more it measures the measurer. E.g. if a stranger says most people are leftist, this is a better indicator the stranger is rightist. 20 27 230 2,429
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Is the ruler measuring the table or is the table measuring the ruler?

  • Via Negativa

    Organism - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 31. Via Negativa: We have a better understanding of what is not than of what is, e.g. we don't know if studying will make us an expert, but we do know not studying won't. Therefore, when in doubt, base decisions on avoiding what you should not do instead of doing what you should. 9 27 192 1,805
    via @g_s_bhogal

    The elimination diet, but for life.

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  • Misinformation Effect

    Rectangle - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 32. Misinformation Effect: New info affects old memories. Researchers Loftus & Palmer showed people car crash footage, then asked how fast the cars were going when they smashed/collided/ bumped/hit/contacted. The estimations depended on the specific verb used in the question: 44 42- 40- 38- 36 34 32 30 Smashed Collided Bumped Hit Contacted O Estimated Speed 17 27 202 1,734
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Language is a powerful thing. 

  • The Fisher Protocol

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 33. The Fisher Protocol: Leaders are often detached from the consequences of their decisions. Roger Fisher suggested implanting the country's nuclear codes into a volunteer. To launch nukes, the President would have to personally kill the volunteer and thereby confront reality. 12 27 291 2,286
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Good luck finding a volunteer. 

  • Ideograph

    Gesture - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 34. Ideograph: Tyrants gain and maintain power by claiming to represent a higher authority: God, Nation, Justice, the People. These are intangible abstracts, to which any requirement can be attributed, authorizing the tyrant to do as he pleases. (see also: Glittering Generality) 27 322 1,709
    via @g_s_bhogal

    I represent the meme gods. Send memes, peasant.

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  • Antiroutine

    World - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 35. Antiroutine: To create original output, consume unusual input. Avoid trending videos, NYT bestsellers, widely cited papers. Instead. read ignored texts, plumb the past for forgotten ideas. Step outside the zeitgeist so you can see it with fresh eyes. h/t: @mmay3r 14 27 312 2,509 1
    via @g_s_bhogal

    *Throws NYT in the trash and logs on to Something Awful*

  • Nocebo Effect

    Mammal - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal ·4d 36. Nocebo Effect: Harmless substances can make people feel ill if they *think* the substance is harmful. According to a recent meta-analysis, most adverse effects of Covid jabs are not caused by the vaccine but by fear of the vaccine! jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman. O 18 27 242 1,922
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Parents, show this to your kids next time they throw up after eating a salad. 

  • Gaslighting

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 37. Gaslighting: The most misused word. It's not simply lying, it's trying to make someone doubt their sanity, like in the film Gaslight. ... E.g. Zersetzung was a Stasi psyop to sneak into homes and rearrange furniture and reset clocks to convince dissidents they were going crazy. 16 27 270 2,006
    via @g_s_bhogal

    If you think your ex is good at gaslighting, you should google the CIA. 

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  • Idiocy Saturation

    Head - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 38. Idiocy Saturation: Online, people who don't think before they post are able to post more often than people who do. As a result, the average social media post is stupider than the average social media user. Worth remembering whenever Twitter dumbassery drives you to despair. 19 27 892 3,796
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Imagine if everyone considered the 48-Hour Rule before posting.

  • The Opinion Economy

    World - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 39. The Opinion Economy: The rise of social media as the primary mode of interaction has caused us to overvalue opinions as a gauge of character. We are now defined more by what we say than what we actually do, and words, unlike deeds, are cheap and easy to counterfeit. 13 27 434 2,461
    via @g_s_bhogal

    Words speak louder than actions. 

  • Signaling

    Font - Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal · 4d 40. Signaling: ... Our social behaviors are calibrated to demonstrate our genetic fitness to other humans, primarily to the opposite sex so we can fulfill our biological imperative of procreation. Essentially, each of us is just a marketing campaign for our DNA. 30 27 197 1,832
    via @g_s_bhogal

    I hope she sees this, king.

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