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Heuristic Hacks

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Retrofit Bias

Humans tend to retrofit information and twist it to fit their own belief system. Retrofitted information often justifies why you made a decision even when it’s not the real reason you made a decision. The Retrofit Bias is essentially a rationalization and confirmation of something you already believe and it converts new information into something compatible with what you believe.

How to hack Retrofit Bias?

Retrofit Bias influences judgments for many critical decisions like lifestyle or medical choices. We may interpret new studies to justify our past decisions even when the study cannot be generalized to our specific personal situation. Retrofitting information to justify a decision can create a problem in how you evaluate your own decisions.

For example, you may justify a late sleep-wake cycle by thinking that some studies suggest that night routines can make you more creative. However, you may really be doing it because it gives you a time of peace and quiet. In most cases, overcoming Retrofit Bias can help make your evaluations more objective and accurate. And in some cases, using Retrofit Bias—a rationalization—can help you stick to an old decision and even say a polite “no.”

How to have a fun serendipitous moment to kindle romance

In some social contexts like dating and friendly bonding, casual conversations can make or break the chemistry between people. Some people enjoy building a fun, dramatic narrative. If you are in a potentially romantic situation, you can help them build that narrative by retrofitting information you already have and get them excited to talk about it.

For example, you can use simple information about what they did as a child and relate it to their career by asking, “Is that why you did this, OMG?” The narrative that builds can become a personal narrative or an image to present in public. Either way, it becomes a “sense-making” activity that can promote relatability or manage impressions.

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How to say no to a friend selling you something

Persuasion techniques can be… well, persuasive. Short-term benefits may have long-term losses, like expensive and risky purchases. When an aggressive marketing campaign is putting you in 2 minds, you can use any new information you get to confirm why your old decision is good enough. This can be useful to prevent a salesperson who isn’t willing to let go.

For example, you may find a new gym membership attractive,

but your cost-free routine in a public park may be just as good. Suppose the gym salesperson has also pressed all your health insecurities to make you feel you need the membership. In this case, you can use Retrofit Bias to twist anything you know to rationalize why your cost-free routine is better. While this happens unconsciously, doing it deliberately still feels natural. More importantly, how you explain your rationalization might help you say no better.

How to Google better

You can fight Retrofit Bias while Googling to get more insightful answers. The query you type can give all sorts of results—those that confirm an opinion, those that reject it, and those that offer new information. Depending on how deeply you look, you may use the information you see to confirm what you already know or explain something you already know. However, upon clicking a link and reading more detailed content, you may learn that there is more to a story than you knew.

How to write a good plot twist in a story

An engaging story can use the reader’s Retrofit Bias by giving the reader a chance to fit new information revealed in a book to suit their beliefs about the characters. While the reader makes these judgments, they can make or break a plot twist.

For example, new information about a character can make them look promiscuous and murderous. The entire story can fuel the reader’s Retrofit Bias and form a theory of why the murder happened. Finally, the ending chapters can reveal shocking new details that break the reader’s expectations and create a dramatic plot twist.

Hack Retrofit Bias NOW!

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