It is true that that may hold in these things, which is the general root of superstition; namely, that men observe when things hit, and not when they miss; and commit to memory the one, and forget and pass over the other.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Superstition arises because people remember hits and forget misses.
- In plain terms
- We remember when things work out and ignore when they don't, leading to false beliefs.
- What can you take from it?
- Remember both successes and failures to avoid superstitious thinking.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What successes do you remember most?
- What failures do you ignore?
Another view
This cognitive bias is hard to overcome in practice.
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