Glossary

Glossary

All 79 key terms from the five chapters, in plain English. Search or browse by chapter, then follow the link to see the term in context.

Showing every term

1. Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity
The brain changing its structure or function because of experience, at any scale from single connections to whole maps.
In Neuroplasticity
Synapse
The junction where one neuron passes a signal to another.
In Neuroplasticity
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
A lasting increase in the strength of a synapse after strong, coordinated activity.
In Neuroplasticity
Long-term depression (LTD)
A lasting decrease in synapse strength, often after slow, repeated activity.
In Neuroplasticity
NMDA receptor
A receptor that opens only when both neurons are active together. It acts as a coincidence detector for many kinds of plasticity.
In Neuroplasticity
Hebbian learning
The principle that a connection strengthens when one neuron repeatedly helps fire another.
In Neuroplasticity
Dendritic spine
A tiny bump on a neuron where most incoming connections sit. Spines form and disappear with learning.
In Neuroplasticity
Myelin
Fatty insulation around nerve fibres that speeds up signals and improves their timing.
In Neuroplasticity
Cortical map
An orderly layout in the brain, such as the body surface in the touch area or sound pitch in the hearing area.
In Neuroplasticity
Critical period
A window in development when certain experiences have outsized and sometimes permanent effects.
In Neuroplasticity
Neuromodulator
A chemical messenger such as dopamine or acetylcholine that signals importance and gates plasticity.
In Neuroplasticity
Adult neurogenesis
The birth of new neurons in the adult brain. Clear in rodents, debated in adult humans.
In Neuroplasticity
Transfer
Improvement on tasks other than the one practised. Near transfer is to similar tasks; far transfer is to very different ones.
In Neuroplasticity
Retrieval practice
Learning by recalling information from memory instead of rereading it.
In Neuroplasticity
Spacing effect
Better long-term memory when study is spread out over time rather than crammed.
In Neuroplasticity
Expansion and renormalisation
The pattern where brain volume grows early in learning and then shrinks back as the useful connections are selected.
In Neuroplasticity

2. Pattern recognition

Pattern recognition
Matching what you perceive now to structures stored from past experience, to classify, predict or act.
In Pattern recognition
Chunk
A group of elements stored and recalled as one unit, such as a familiar word or chess formation.
In Pattern recognition
Template
A large, often-used chunk with a fixed core and open slots for the details of the current case.
In Pattern recognition
Recognition-primed decision
Recognising a situation type, taking the action that comes with it, and checking it by imagining how it would play out.
In Pattern recognition
Perceptual learning
Experience-driven improvement in noticing and extracting the information that matters.
In Pattern recognition
Gist perception
Extracting the overall meaning of an image very quickly, before looking at details.
In Pattern recognition
Statistical learning
Picking up regularities, such as which sounds follow which, from exposure alone.
In Pattern recognition
Predictive processing
The theory that the brain predicts its input and updates its model when surprised.
In Pattern recognition
Kind environment
A setting with quick, accurate feedback, where learning conditions match later use.
In Pattern recognition
Wicked environment
A setting where feedback is delayed, missing or misleading, so experience can teach wrong lessons.
In Pattern recognition
Interleaving
Mixing examples of different categories while studying, instead of grouping them.
In Pattern recognition
Einstellung effect
A familiar solution coming to mind so fast that it blocks a better one.
In Pattern recognition
Pareidolia
Seeing meaningful patterns, such as faces, in random noise.
In Pattern recognition
Illusory correlation
Seeing a relationship between things that are not actually related.
In Pattern recognition
Streak selection bias
In finite data, success right after a streak is expected to look lower than the true rate.
In Pattern recognition
Calibration
How well your stated confidence matches how often you are actually right.
In Pattern recognition

3. Game theory

Game
Any situation where your best choice depends on what others choose.
In Game theory
Payoff
How much an outcome is worth to a player. Not necessarily money.
In Game theory
Zero-sum game
A game where one player's gain is exactly another's loss.
In Game theory
Dominant strategy
A move that is best whatever the others do.
In Game theory
Nash equilibrium
A set of choices where nobody gains by changing only their own.
In Game theory
Pareto efficient
An outcome where no one can be made better off without making someone worse off.
In Game theory
Prisoner's dilemma
A game where defecting is individually best but mutual cooperation beats mutual defection.
In Game theory
Mixed strategy
Choosing randomly between moves in set proportions.
In Game theory
Backward induction
Solving a turn-by-turn game by reasoning from the last move backwards.
In Game theory
Credible commitment
A promise or threat that it will really be in your interest to carry out.
In Game theory
Shadow of the future
The weight of future interactions, which makes cooperation pay today.
In Game theory
Focal point
An option people converge on because it stands out.
In Game theory
Public goods game
A group game where everyone benefits from contributions but each is tempted to free ride.
In Game theory
Signal
A costly action that reveals hidden qualities because it is harder for others to fake.
In Game theory
BATNA
Best alternative to a negotiated agreement: your walk-away option.
In Game theory
Level-k thinking
Reasoning a limited number of steps about what others will do.
In Game theory
Stable matching
A pairing where no two parties would both rather be with each other.
In Game theory

4. Obsession

Harmonious passion
Deep love for an activity that you engage in freely and can step away from.
In Obsession
Obsessive passion
Love for an activity tied to self-worth or pressure, so you feel compelled to keep going.
In Obsession
Rigid persistence
Continuing an activity even when conditions make continuing unwise.
In Obsession
Self-determination theory
The theory that people thrive when they feel autonomy, competence and connection.
In Obsession
Wanting versus liking
The brain's separate systems for craving something and enjoying it.
In Obsession
Reward prediction error
The gap between expected and actual reward, signalled by dopamine.
In Obsession
Flow
Total absorption in a task, most likely when challenge and skill are both high and matched.
In Obsession
Deliberate practice
Focused, effortful practice on specific weaknesses, ideally with feedback.
In Obsession
Grit
Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Overlaps heavily with conscientiousness.
In Obsession
Workaholism
A compulsive drive to work, distinct from healthy engagement.
In Obsession
Psychological detachment
Mentally switching off from work in your free time.
In Obsession
Escalation of commitment
Investing more in a failing course of action to justify earlier choices.
In Obsession
Survivorship bias
Drawing conclusions only from successes while ignoring similar failures.
In Obsession
Equal-odds rule
The finding that more output brings more hits, not a higher hit rate.
In Obsession
OCD
A clinical disorder of unwanted, intrusive thoughts and anxiety-driven rituals. Not the same as being passionate.
In Obsession

5. Non-linear careers

Non-linear career
A working life with pivots, combined fields, late starts or late peaks, rather than one steady climb.
In Non-linear careers
Early specialisation
Focusing intensively on one domain from a young age.
In Non-linear careers
Sampling period
A stretch of trying several domains before committing to one.
In Non-linear careers
Match quality
How well a person fits a job or field, often unknown until tried.
In Non-linear careers
Explore-exploit trade-off
The tension between trying new options and using the best one found so far.
In Non-linear careers
Kind environment
A setting with quick, accurate feedback and stable rules.
In Non-linear careers
Wicked environment
A setting where feedback is slow, missing or misleading, or the rules change.
In Non-linear careers
Career age
Years since entering a field, as opposed to age since birth.
In Non-linear careers
Random-impact rule
Your best work is equally likely to be anywhere in your sequence of work.
In Non-linear careers
Hot streak
A burst of work with impact well above your usual level.
In Non-linear careers
Occupation-specific skills
Skills that are valuable mainly in one occupation.
In Non-linear careers
Task-specific skills
Skills tied to a mix of tasks, which transfer to occupations with similar tasks.
In Non-linear careers
Protean career
A self-directed career guided by personal values rather than an organisation.
In Non-linear careers
Job (BLS definition)
An unbroken period of work with one employer. Not the same as a career.
In Non-linear careers
Survivorship bias
Drawing conclusions from visible successes while ignoring those who tried the same path and failed.
In Non-linear careers

Want the evidence behind a term? Every chapter lists its sources at the end, and the sources page collects them all.