Thought trap
A thought trap - or cognitive illusion - opens up when a problem situation sets a proven thought mechanism in motion, and when this thought mechanism does not cope with the situation and leads to errors . Such thought traps can be the cause of risky maneuvers, misdiagnosis, design, programming and operating errors . Many paradoxes are prime examples of thought traps. Thought traps are comparable to optical illusions , you almost inevitably fall for them.
Examples
A ladder stands vertically on a wall. Then its lower end is slowly pulled away from the wall until the ladder lies flat on the floor. Question: Which curve describes the center of the ladder during this movement? Is the curve curved down or up?
- Most intuitive answer (wrong): The curve is convex , curved downwards.
- Correct answer : The curve that the center point describes is concave , a quadrant curved upwards.
Another example of a thought trap is the so-called “ birthday paradox ”. Estimating how high the probability is, for example with 25 people in the room, that two have birthdays on the same day, is answered incorrectly by practically everyone. It is 57% for 25 people and 99% for 60 people (see web link).