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Tendency #12 · Poor Charlie's Almanack

Liking & Loving
Tendency

How love distorts judgment — and what to do about it

↳ The Mechanism
REALITY Flaw A exists Risk is real Competitor is strong Data looks mixed Track record is fair Love / Admiration PERCEIVED Flaw A exists Minor, fixable Risk is real Overblown Competitor strong Overhyped Everything is fine LOVE FILTERS REALITY · FACTS ARE REWRITTEN
🔭 Clear-Eyed Thinker
▪Notices faults alongside strengths
▪Weighs evidence against prior views
▪Can criticise a loved person or idea
▪Updates when disconfirming data arrives
❤️‍🔥 Love-Biased Thinker
▪Ignores or dismisses flaws
▪Complies with beloved's wishes uncritically
▪Attacks those who criticise the beloved
▪Doubles down when wrong
↳ Three Ways Love Distorts Judgment
01
Fault Blindness
Negative attributes of the beloved are ignored, minimised, or rationalised away automatically.
02
Compliance Drift
We fulfil the wishes of loved ones even when those wishes are objectively harmful or irrational.
03
Halo Inflation
Positive traits of the beloved bleed into unrelated domains — we think they're right about everything.
🛡️

The Munger Antidote

Before acting on a decision about something you love, steelman the opposing case. Write down three genuine weaknesses. If naming them feels uncomfortable or disloyal, that discomfort is the bias. As Munger put it — you must be able to argue the other side better than those who hold it.

"The human mind is a lot like the human egg, and the human egg has a shut-off device. When one sperm gets in, it shuts down so the next one can't get in. The human mind has a big tendency of the same sort."
— Charlie Munger · on how a loved idea locks the mind closed
TENDENCY #12 · POOR CHARLIE'S ALMANACK · LIKING / LOVING