Appeal to Authority
A Famous Person Said It
Argument Mistakes
A student says an energy drink must improve focus because a famous athlete promotes it. The class never looks at the actual research.
Learn this bugBrain Bugs
Spot the Bugs in Bad Reasoning Before They Steer You Wrong.
Brain Bugs teaches thinking traps in plain English, with simple examples from class, work, stories, and daily life.
Logical Fallacies
Brain Shortcuts
Persuasion Tricks
Number Mistakes
Decision Traps
Family
Family conflict and competing interpretations
Editorial illustration showing how a shared conversation can fracture into competing stories and assumptions.
Learn Fast
See the Pattern
Start with a short definition, then jump into a scene that sounds like real life.
Stay Practical
Know What to Say Next
Each lesson ends with warning signs, better responses, and a mini practice check.
Library
83 Lessons
Short, plain-English explanations with examples, warning signs, and better responses.
Compare
16 Side-by-Side Guides
Quick difference pages for the bugs people confuse most often.
Practice
8 Quiz Sets
Recognition drills, flashcards, spot-the-bug prompts, and longer scenario work.
What Is A Brain Bug?
A Brain Bug is a common way thinking can go off track.
Sometimes we jump to a fast answer. Sometimes we defend our side too hard. Sometimes we hear a clever line and miss the weak logic hiding inside it.
Brain Bugs makes those mistakes easier to see. It gives you plain words, short examples, and calm ways to respond.
Choose Your Path
Learn the Basics
Start with the biggest differences between a fallacy, a bias, and a shortcut.
Browse Topics
Jump straight to argument mistakes, decision traps, or number mistakes.
Practice Spotting Bugs
Use quick scenarios with instant feedback.
See Stories and Real-Life Examples
Watch Brain Bugs show up in myths, class debates, meetings, and daily choices.
Learning Paths
Follow a path instead of wandering the library.
Spot Bad Arguments
Learn to catch personal attacks, weak rewrites, false either-or claims, and crowd pressure.
Understand Brain Shortcuts
Notice how the mind grabs the most comfortable, familiar, or recent answer.
Make Better Decisions
Slow down when cost, stress, and overload start steering the choice.
Topics
Start with the kind of bug you want to spot.
Logical Fallacies
Argument Mistakes
Mistakes in how a claim is argued, not just what someone believes.
13 lessons and 1 comparisons
Open topicCognitive Biases
Brain Shortcuts that Tilt Judgment
Mental habits that bend what we notice, remember, or trust.
17 lessons and 5 comparisons
Open topicHeuristics
Fast Rules of Thumb
Quick mental shortcuts that help us move fast but sometimes mislead us.
6 lessons and 2 comparisons
Open topicCognitive Distortions
Thought Distortions
Patterns of self-talk that twist a situation into something harsher or more extreme.
6 lessons
Open topicRhetorical Manipulation
Persuasion Tricks
Language moves meant to steer feelings, pressure a crowd, or muddy the real issue.
8 lessons and 2 comparisons
Open topicStatistical & Probability Errors
Number Mistakes
Errors that come from weak samples, broken comparisons, or bad guesses about chance.
7 lessons and 1 comparisons
Open topicDecision-Making Traps
Decision Traps
Mistakes that keep us stuck, rushed, or too invested in a weak choice.
8 lessons and 2 comparisons
Open topicSocial Perception Errors
People Mistakes
Errors in how we read groups, motives, status, and what other people know or believe.
8 lessons and 4 comparisons
Open topicNarrative & Meaning Errors
Story Traps
Mistakes caused by our need for neat stories, clear causes, and tidy endings.
4 lessons and 3 comparisons
Open topicMetacognitive Illusions
Self-Knowledge Traps
Mistakes in how well we think we know, understand, or control a situation.
6 lessons and 2 comparisons
Open topicFeatured Examples
Small scenes that make the idea click fast.
Narrative Fallacy
A Neat Story Feels More True Than Messy Reality
Story Traps
A company succeeds, and people tell a clean story about vision and grit while ignoring timing, luck, and market conditions.
Learn this bugGambler's Fallacy
A Short Streak Feels Like It Must Reverse
Number Mistakes
After five heads in a row, someone says tails is now much more likely on the next flip because the streak has to end.
Learn this bugLaw of Small Numbers
A Tiny Sample Gets Treated Like The Whole Truth
Number Mistakes
A teacher looks at three quiz results from a new method and decides the method clearly works for the whole grade.
Learn this bugProjection Bias
Assuming Other Minds Work More Like Mine Than They Do
Brain Shortcuts that Tilt Judgment
A manager wants a fast answer and assumes the whole team also prefers speed, even though several people need time to think.
Learn this bugJust-World Hypothesis
Assuming People Mostly Get What They Deserve
Brain Shortcuts that Tilt Judgment
After someone experiences a setback, others quickly assume they must have made poor choices instead of asking what unfair conditions were...
Learn this bugAd Hominem
Attacking the Person
Argument Mistakes
A student says the new research source is useful. Another student replies, “Why would we trust you? You never do your part.” The source i...
Learn this bugOverconfidence Effect
Being More Sure Than The Evidence Warrants
Self-Knowledge Traps
A team leader promises a launch date with great certainty even though the project still has major unknowns.
Learn this bugQuick Comparisons
Learn the difference that matters first.
Quick comparison
Fallacies vs Biases
A fallacy is a mistake in the argument. A bias is a tilt in how the mind judges the facts.
See the differenceQuick comparison
Biases vs Heuristics
A bias bends judgment in a direction. A heuristic is a quick rule of thumb that can help or mislead.
See the differenceQuick comparison
Sunk Cost vs Escalation of Commitment
Sunk cost is sticking with a bad choice because of past cost. Escalation adds more and more to save face.
See the differenceQuick comparison
Appeal to Emotion vs Loaded Language
One uses feeling as proof. The other uses hot wording to frame the issue before proof is tested.
See the differenceQuick comparison
Hindsight Bias vs Narrative Fallacy
One makes the ending feel obvious after the fact. The other turns messy reality into a neat story.
See the differenceQuick comparison
Base Rate Neglect vs Availability Heuristic
One skips the background odds. The other lets a vivid example feel more common than it is.
See the differencePractice
Try a few examples and see if you can spot the bug.
Short questions. Instant feedback. Links back to the full lessons.