Eureka Newsletter Archive
Broken Windows Theory
The Broken Windows Theory is a criminological theory that suggests that visible signs of disorder and misbehavior in an environment encourage further disorder and criminal behavior, leading to serious crimes.
Lotus-Eater Effect
The Lotus-Eater Effect refers to a situation where individuals or groups become complacent and lose sight of their goals or the realities of their environment due to an excessive comfort or luxury that numbs their drive to achieve more or change their circumstances.
Peter Principle
The Peter Principle suggests that in a hierarchical organization, employees are promoted based on their performance in their current role rather than their abilities relevant to the intended role.
Kelly Criterion
The Kelly Criterion is a mathematical formula used to determine the optimal size of a series of bets in order to maximize long-term growth of capital.
Zeigarnik Effect
The Zeigarnik Effect is a psychological phenomenon that describes the tendency for people to remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks more easily than completed tasks.
Stress Inoculation
Stress inoculation is a psychological technique aimed at preparing individuals to handle stress more effectively by exposing them to manageable levels of stressors in a controlled environment.
Benford’s Law
Benford's Law is a statistical phenomenon that describes the frequency distribution of leading digits in many real-life datasets.
Cross-Species Friendship
Cross-species friendship refers to the relationships that form between members of different animal species, including humans and animals.
Thin-Slicing
Thin-slicing is a psychological concept referring to the ability to find patterns and make quick judgments based on very limited slices of experience.
Negative Space
Negative space, a fundamental concept in art and design, refers to the empty or open space around and between the subjects of an image.
Zeitgeist Inflection
Zeitgeist Inflection refers to the pivotal moment in an individual's career or life when they transition from obscurity to recognition.
Curse of Knowledge
The Curse of Knowledge is a cognitive bias that occurs when an individual, possessing a certain level of expertise or knowledge, finds it challenging to imagine what it's like not to know something.
Sturgeon's Law
Sturgeon's Law claims the vast majority of works in any field—be it literature, film, art, or even broader categories like consumer products or academic research—are of low quality.
Prospect Theory
Prospect Theory suggests that people value gains and losses differently: losses are felt more intensely than gains of the same magnitude.
Status Quo Bias
Status Quo Bias describes the human preference for keeping things the same or maintaining a current or previous decision.
Antifragility
Antifragility is refers to systems, entities, or processes that improve or become stronger as a result of stressors, shocks, volatility, or disturbances.
Hick’s Law
Hick's Law is a principle in psychology and ergonomics that describes the time it takes for a person to make a decision as a result of the possible choices they have.
Threshold Effect
The Threshold Effect refers to a point at which a relatively small change or increase in a variable can cause a significant and often disproportionate effect.