Ad Hominem
The Ad Hominem mental model is basically a character attack. When in an argument, instead of focusing on the argument, one will focus on discrediting the character of another individual. For instance, one could bring up a good argument about a certain political issue. However, instead of debating on the claim, someone could discredit the individual by claiming that they were once arrested or that they are not worthy of discussing anything.
This is something that you might have experienced before. Sometimes people tend to focus on discrediting others as a way of throwing away the reasonable arguments that they might have presented.
Hanlon’s Razor
Something that could evoke a chuckle about this world is that people are always thinking that everyone is against them. When something bad happens to us, the first conclusion that we make is that life is against us. When your spouse fails to understand your reasons for not attending a certain event, you will think that they simply want to make you angry.
Your neighbor’s children playing on your lawn might have you jumping to the conclusion that they just want to ruin your day. The manager is too strict on you, and the first thing that will come to mind is that they are not happy that you are successful. These are the thoughts that we allow to occupy space in our mind. Unfortunately, most of us hold these thoughts to be true and they end up affecting how we feel and think.
The reality is that the explanations that we have in our minds regarding what is happening around are rarely true. Chances are that your manager is strict. This is how they prefer to work. Maybe they also have deadlines to meet. You can’t blame them for being strict with you. Hanlon’s razor mental model can help you to think critically about what is happening here.
Using the examples above, the explanations that you have in your mind are not adequate to provide you with solid evidence that everything is happening against you. According to Hanlon’s razor, one should not attribute malice to things, actions, experiences or people if events can be satisfactorily explained by neglect.
The advantage of using Hanlon’s razor mental model in your life is that you will learn how to relate to other people. This is because you will be less judgmental of them. Instead of jumping to conclusions, you will show more empathy toward other people. Hence, you will offer them the benefit of the doubt that they could be right.
Additionally, the same can be applied to business. You will strive to understand the individuals you interact with. As such, you will value the importance of thinking rationally prior to believing any explanations that come to your mind.
One fact that we have to acknowledge is that we spend most of our time interacting with other people. Whether at work or at home, we are always communicating with other people. Therefore, assuming intent from everything that occurs could only make our lives more complex. Honestly, people are always fast to look for other individuals to blame for their misfortunes. You will want to believe that you are poor because of the corruption existing in your country. Also, you will blame your coworkers for submitting their reports on time.
Interestingly, we tend to forget that we have also made such mistakes at one time in our lives. Maybe you are blaming your team for being late. At one point you might also have been late and inconvenienced them. In addition, you can’t say that you’re perfect. There may have been a time that you failed and disappointed someone. Therefore, before taking out your anger on another individual, you should take a step back and mull over whether your emotions are justified.
To effectively deal with such situations, you should think about educating those who are causing problems in your life. Talk to them about the effects of their actions and inform them about the best way they can behave or act. This way, you will help each other avoid such situations occurring repeatedly.
