General Knowledge Essentials

A proven scientific law

An unchangeable fact

A personal belief without evidence

A testable explanation for an observed phenomenon

Selecting participants who agree with the outcome

Relying on anecdotal evidence

Using randomized controlled trials when feasible

Publishing only successful results

Check primary sources and look for corroborating evidence

Assume both are false

Trust the source with the most dramatic headline

Share the first version you read

Guarantees immediate success without effort

Prevents any revisions later

Eliminates the need for planning

Increases focus and makes progress measurable

Trying everything at once without focus

Avoiding feedback to protect confidence

Believing ability improves with effort and practice

Assuming talent alone determines success

It avoids confronting opposing views

It guarantees a single correct answer

It makes decisions slower without any benefit

It exposes different perspectives and reduces echo chamber effects

Investing all savings into a single high-return asset

Relying solely on credit cards for flexibility

Avoiding any budgeting or tracking

Building an emergency savings buffer covering basic expenses

That correlation never indicates any relationship

That statistical correlation proves intent

That causation requires no evidence beyond timing

That correlation always implies one variable causes the other