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perception
You consistently underestimate your own internal narrative.
The narrative fallacy describes your tendency to force complex, random events into simple, cause-and-effect stories.
Research indicates that your brain struggles to process randomness, preferring to see a coherent plotline instead. By retrospectively connecting unrelated events, you create a sense of meaning where none existed.
Your life feels like a novel because you are the narrator, not the reader.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Nassim Taleb, The Black Swan (theoretical foundation)
- What the check found
- The term is correctly attributed to Taleb's 2007 book 'The Black Swan' and the definition is accurate. It functions as a heuristic framework for understanding cognitive biases related to story-building.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.