Swimmer's Body Illusion

Does Harvard Make You Smarter?

Confusing selection factors with results

Whenever we confuse selection factors with results, we fall prey to what Taleb calls the swimmer's body illusion.

Cheerfulness is largely a personality trait that remains constant throughout life.

Trying to be happier is as futile as trying to be taller - Lykken and Tellegen, social scientists.

The Swimmer’s body illusion is also a self-illusion.

It’s important to give a wide berth to tips and advices from self-help authors. For billions of people, these pieces of advice are unlikely to help.

See also

• Halo effect
• Outcome bias
• Self-selection bias
• Alternative blindness
• Fundamental Attribution Error