Nearly nine years after part 1, I bring three new short ideas.

1. Keep in mind that scientific fraud happens sometimes
2. Clichés are good, actually
3. You must put unnecessary decoration on your useful items, or else you’re a weirdo

Keep in mind that scientific fraud happens sometimes

Scientific misconduct is not rare. Even if a study uses a good experimental design, even if it has a large sample size, even if it has robust methodology, the results might still be wrong simply because the authors committed fraud. We should keep that in mind when reading scientific research.

For that reason (among others), I’m not fully convinced by any one study, no matter how strong it looks.

To reduce the chance of being bamboozled by fraudulent research:

• Prefer studies that have been replicated by independent teams.
• Prefer studies that make their data public.

Clichés are good, actually

Using unique phrasing keeps your writing fresh. It forces the reader to think a little harder about what you’re saying. It keeps the reader on their toes and makes them pay attention. Often that’s what you want.

Sometimes you want the opposite. Using a cliché signals to the reader: “My meaning is exactly what you think it is.” There is no wondering about your intention. Your meaning sinks into the reader’s mind like a hot knife through butter.¹ (Okay, that was not a good example of a situation where using a cliché is helpful.)

Beyond clichés, there are times when you want to use predictable language, and you don’t want to try to be too interesting. Using predictable language communicates that the thing you’re trying to say is predictable. It makes the language easier to parse; the reader doesn’t have to spend any time interpreting your meaning.

You must put unnecessary decoration on your useful items, or else you’re a weirdo

I used to have blank walls with no decorations. People thought this was weird.

I used to sleep on a mattress on the floor with no bed frame. People thought this was weird. Why? A mattress works perfectly fine without a bed frame.

Eventually I bought a bed frame and actually I think it was smart to buy one because now I can store stuff under it. But I still don’t care that much about wall decorations, I just got some so I could pretend to be normal.

You’re also supposed to have useless uncomfortable pillows (a.k.a. “throw pillows”) on your couch. I have so far resisted buying any throw pillows.

This is one of those mental differences between me and other people. I can’t fathom why people insist on adding superfluous decorations to things, and other people can’t fathom why my tastes are so dull.

Really, it’s not that my tastes are dull. I think decorated walls look better than blank walls if the decoration is good. It’s more that I’m easily distracted by certain kinds of visuals.

I used to have a fun desktop wallpaper. But I found it too distracting to see fun art behind the application window where I was trying to work. Now my computer’s wallpaper is pure black.

Posted on Nov 12, 2025

Notes