Cognitive Move
Decouple the systems
Build a boundary so a failure in one place stops spreading into another.
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Mental Model
Decoy Effect (Asymmetric Dominance)
A pricing and choice architecture phenomenon where introducing a clearly inferior third option (the decoy) shifts preference between the original two options
Mental Model
Deep Play Theory (Ackerman)
Deep play is a state of ecstatic engagement where the stakes feel meaningful but the activity is freely chosen—distinct from both casual amusement and high-pressure work
Mental Model
Deep Source Cultivation (Building Trust-Based Intelligence Networks)
Deep source cultivation builds sustained relationships with knowledgeable insiders over months or years, contrasting with transactional one-time sources
Mental Model
Deep Work Protocol (Newport)
Cal Newport's Deep Work framework distinguishes between deep work (cognitively demanding tasks requiring sustained, uninterrupted attention — the activities that produce your highest-value output) and shallow work (logis…
Cognitive Move
Default
Make the preferred path happen without a repeated choice, while keeping an honest opt-out.
Mental Model
Default Effect in Behavior Design
The default effect is among the most powerful behavioral phenomena: people overwhelmingly accept pre-set options, with acceptance rates of 70-90%
Mental Model
Default Mode Network Theory
The Default Mode Network (DMN) is a set of brain regions (medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, angular gyrus, hippocampus) that activate when the mind is not engaged in external tasks — during mind-wande…
Mental Model
Default to Clarity
The communication discipline of choosing PRECISION and SIMPLICITY over impressive complexity—making your meaning unmistakable rather than impressive
Mental Model
Defensible Space (Newman)
Oscar Newman's theory proposes that physical design can create zones of territorial influence that residents adopt and defend, reducing crime
Mental Model
Defensive Design (Designing for Misuse)
Defensive design addresses credible error and misuse through prevention, limitation, detection, or recovery
Mental Model
Deferred Living Syndrome
The pattern of perpetually postponing meaningful life experiences until some future condition is met, where the condition keeps receding
Mental Model
Define the Problem
The foundational step in problem-solving: precisely articulating WHAT the problem actually is before attempting solutions
Mental Model
Déformation Professionnelle
The French term for the tendency to view the world through the narrow lens of one's professional training—a more elegant and precise version of Maslow's Hammer applied specifically to professional expertise
Cognitive Move
Dehumanization
When you speed something up by routing it through a tool, the human part of it — presence, care, apology, trust — can quietly disappear while the task still looks done.
Cognitive Move
Delay
How long the loop takes to come back around. You time the gap between an action and the moment its effect returns to you, because a lag long enough to hide the connection is why a fix looks like it worked before the problem returns.
Cognitive Move
Delayed
Name the lag between an action and the return it produces. When weeks pass in between, cause and effect stop looking connected, so you blame today's symptom on today's conditions and quit fixes before their effect ever lands.
Cognitive Move
Delayed
Some consequences do not begin showing up until long after the action ends, so any measure taken while the work is fresh will miss them. Name the effect whose onset is deferred and the lag before it surfaces.
Cognitive Move
Delayed outcome or Reality Gate
Come back later and check whether the result held up, transferred, and actually improved downstream life.
Cognitive Move
Delayed Thermostat
A hypothesis that a balancing response arrives late enough to create overshoot and oscillation.
Mental Model
Delays in Feedback Loops
A process in which the outputs of a system circle back to affect that system's behavior
Cognitive Move
Delegate
Assign a bounded piece of work with clear authority, acceptance criteria, and accountability.