Hanlon’s Razor

When something bad happens, we are more likely to assume malice than error. We think someone has been planning on doing us bad even when it’s just a simple mistake. When someone cuts us in the traffic, we are more likely to think them as bad people even when they just made that mistake accidentally.  This tendency is a reflection of what is known as the Hanlon’s razor. In the Great Mental Models Volume 1, Shane Parrish says: Hanlon’s Razor states that we should not attribute to malice that which is more easily explained by stupidity.

Being aware of this can help us navigate the world. Shane Parrish goes on to say that “By not generally assuming that bad results are the fault of a bad actor, we look for options instead of missing opportunities. This model reminds us that people do make mistakes. It demands that we ask if there is another reasonable explanation for the events that have occurred. The explanation most likely to be right is the one that contains the least amount of intent.

This model helps us avoid assuming that there is a bad intention behind everything bad that happens to use. As Parrish concludes it is possible that most people doing wrong are not bad people trying to be malicious.