thinking-debiasing
Cognitive Debiasing
Usually unnecessary. Current models already avoid the textbook cognitive biases on standard framings, so do not run this checklist by default — it adds friction without lift. It earns its keep in one narrow case: a long trajectory where you've committed to an approach early and are now rationalizing past it (sunk-cost) or only collecting evidence that confirms it (confirmation). For everything else, skip it.
Trigger Card
Only use this skill when you notice one of these patterns in a long trajectory where you've committed to a path early:
| Pattern you notice | Self-check |
|---|---|
| "We've already built/spent a lot, so we should continue" | Sunk cost: Would I choose this path starting fresh today, ignoring work already done? If no, change course. |
| You keep finding support for your current hypothesis and discounting counter-evidence | Confirmation: What single piece of evidence would prove me wrong? Have I actively looked for it? |
| Unusually high confidence with thin evidence | Overconfidence: Widen the estimate; state what I'd expect to see if I'm wrong. |
If the check doesn't change the decision, you're done. Don't name biases without acting on them. For risk anticipation, use thinking-pre-mortem; for trade-off analysis, use thinking-opportunity-cost; for decision speed, use thinking-reversibility.