When Dee and I collaborated on our presentation last week about Attilaism, he shared a book named The Great Mental Models by Shane Parrish. At the end of our session, Gabriel mentioned about the Hanlon’s Razor. I asked what it was about. Gabriel went on to explain the razor and pointed out that it’s in The Great Mental Models book. After the meeting, I started reading about the Hanlon’s Razor and could hardly put down the book.
Here is what I learned from the book about Hanlon’s Razor:
- Hanlon’s Razor states that we should not attribute to malice that which is more easily explained by stupidity. In a complex world, using this model helps us avoid paranoia and ideology. By not generally assuming that bad results are the fault of a bad actor, we look for options instead of missing opportunities.
- Failing to prioritize stupidity over malice causes things like paranoia. Always assuming malice puts you at the center of everyone else’s world. This is an incredibly self-centered approach to life. In reality, for every act of malice, there is almost certainly far more ignorance, stupidity, and laziness.
- When we assume someone is out to get us, our very natural instinct is to take actions to defend ourselves. It’s harder to take advantage of, or even see, opportunities while in this defensive mode because our priority is saving ourselves—which tends to reduce our vision to dealing with the perceived threat instead of examining the bigger picture.
- Ultimately, Hanlon’s Razor demonstrates that there are fewer true villains than you might suppose—what people are is human, and like you, all humans make mistakes and fall into traps of laziness, bad thinking, and bad incentives. Our lives are easier, better, and more effective when we recognize this truth and act accordingly.
My own interpretation: it’s like, when someone cuts you off in traffic, you don’t assume that the other driver is a bad person. S/he could be under a lot of pressure or rush to get somewhere.
I can’t wait to read the rest of this book!