Good Biases: Upcoming Book

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Ever noticed how we’re told all biases are bad? That’s nonsense. Some biases are evolutionary gifts that helped us survive and thrive. They’re mental shortcuts that make us more effective, not less.

Take the IKEA effect. You value something more when you build it yourself. That cheap bookshelf you assembled? It’s suddenly your favorite piece of furniture. This “bias” drives us to create, to put in effort, to feel proud of our work. It’s why cooking your own meal tastes better than takeout.

Or consider the mere exposure effect. The more you see something, the more you like it. Sounds like a flaw? This is what helps children bond with parents, helps us adapt to new environments, helps build lasting relationships. Without it, we’d be constantly suspicious of the familiar.

The optimism bias makes us believe we’ll succeed despite odds. It’s why entrepreneurs start businesses, why inventors keep trying, why we get up after failure. Too much pessimism, too much “realism,” and humanity would still be in caves, too afraid to venture out.

These aren’t flaws in our operating system. They’re features. They’re good biases that shape human progress, creativity, and connection. The trick isn’t to eliminate them but to understand when they serve us and when they don’t.

Good Biases by Linda Ashok is going to explore 60 human biases like never done before. While I might appear academic, the book is for everyone curious about how biases work. Good Biases explores biases in global events in the last several years or few explaining the natural ingrowth of biases and the aftermath.

At the moment while I write the book, I am highly confused with the cover design for the beautiful title for which I have already acquired an ISBN via BookWryter.in. Initially, it had a floral look and then realize it would be so much disconcerting to bait people with a flower cover to read thorny realizations of the biases. So, kind of experimenting so far. Time to get back to work. More soon.



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