Sketchplanations - A weekly explanation in a sketch

Hanlon’s Razor is a useful mental model which can be best summarized as:

‘Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by neglect.’

Hanlon’s Razor: “Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.”

Hard to trace in its origin, Hanlon’s Razor states that we should not attribute to malice that which is more easily explained by stupidity. In a complex world, using this model helps us avoid paranoia and ideology. By not generally assuming that bad results are the fault of a bad actor, we look for options instead of missing opportunities. This mod

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As useful as it can be, it is, however, important not to overthink this model. Hanlon’s Razor is meant to help us perceive stupidity or error, and their inadvertent consequences. It says that of all possible motives behind an action, the ones that require the least amount of energy to execute (such as ignorance or laziness) are more likely to occur

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