General Knowledge Essentials

Using intuition to explain unique events

Collecting as much data as possible without prior expectations

Accepting theories that align with expert opinion

Forming testable hypotheses and evaluating them with experiments or observations

Relying on the first source encountered

Seeking multiple independent examples before concluding

Preferring the most memorable story

Assuming common sense always applies

To assign blame if something goes wrong

To create measurable checkpoints for progress and decision points

To list every minor task in detail

To eliminate the need for deadlines

Because causation requires identical sample sizes

Because correlations are always weak measures

Because statistics cannot measure causal effects

A third factor or coincidence can produce a relationship without direct cause

Assuming social media likes validate accuracy

Trusting any article that cites a study without checking it

Reading only the headline and sharing quickly

Checking the original source and corroborating with independent reputable outlets

Highlighting every sentence in a text

Spaced review of material with active recall exercises

Listening passively without practice

Only rereading notes multiple times in one session

Iterative experimentation: test small ideas, learn, and adapt

Relying solely on intuition without testing

Waiting until perfect information appears

Sticking rigidly to the first plan

Short breaks improve concentration

Practice can eliminate all switching costs

Humans can perform two attention-heavy tasks simultaneously without performance loss

Music never affects task performance