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Reintroduction to UX Core - the world’s biggest open-source library of nudging strategies and cognitive biases.
UX Core began in 2020 as an experiment: “What if I could lower the barrier to understanding cognitive biases (thinking patterns) for broader audiences?”
From early adulthood, I saw people constantly manipulated in everything—from simple food choices to complex topics like trust-building. Having studied behavioral and cognitive sciences independently for over a decade, I was saddened by how limited people's chances had become to make unbiased, informed decisions. I won't play cutiepie moralist here - of course I was taking advantage wherever possible, because of the world I lived in. However, often, the world seemed merely a playground for behavioral experts ("choice architects" as per Richard Thaler) to nudge people toward desired outcomes (politics, marketing, entertainment).
That's why, during the 2020 pandemic, I publicly shared my 2.5-year research into cognitive biases, simplifying explanations and demonstrating how biases are used in management to influence behavior.
My naive goal was to level the playing field between corporations and ordinary people. Ironically, almost five years later from the project's release day, the most enthusiastic feedback I've received came precisely from those corporations.
Did this disappoint me? Well, at least I've learned why powerful entities continue to grow stronger and why most people prefer guidance and nudging over responsibility.
At the end of the day, we are still in a jungle, divided into predators and prey. The only difference is that now the battle is for our attention rather than our lives.
Below I’ll explain two basic concepts, and then tie those together. Stay tuned.
Thinking: First Piece of the Puzzle
There are four basic human skills: Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Thinking.
If we asked adults worldwide whether Speaking is a skill they can continuously improve, at least half would agree. This concept isn't that hard to grasp, because almost everyone experiences anxiety about speaking publicly, so they naturally understand that practice helps. For many others, speaking is a simple yes-or-no ability—you either speak or you don’t.
With Writing, only around 30-35% of the world would agree it’s a skill worth improving. Globally, roughly 14% of adults are illiterate, and about 40% haven’t completed secondary education. For many of them, writing (and reading) remains a yes-or-no skill.
For Reading, agreement further drops to about 20-25%. Most people think of reading as just recognizing words, not as a skill you can enhance. Advanced reading techniques, like deep comprehension or self-aware, highly-focused reading, remain uncommon—even among educated people.
Finally, we have Thinking. Unfortunately, the idea that thinking is something you can continually improve is even harder to grasp. It takes significant effort and self-awareness to understand that thinking is more than intelligence alone.
Most people—even highly educated ones—still confuse thinking with being smart. In reality, fewer than 5% of adults worldwide might confidently agree that thinking itself can be improved.
People who easily grasp this concept ('Thinking is a skill that can be deliberately developed') don’t necessarily have an academic background — often, they practice meditation or other mindfulness techniques. I’ve often seen such individuals leading highly influential organizations and projects.
Interestingly, not everyone who understands the concept that 'thinking is a developable skill' actually makes the effort to structure and refine their thinking. However, those who do quickly realize the huge value of this mindset. They clearly see how sharpened thinking not only boosts their work but also improves health, brings happiness, and fills life with new colors.
Key takeaway from this is that thinking is a skill that can and must be regularly maintained and enhanced.
Decisions: Last Piece of the Puzzle
Every day, an average person consciously makes around 70–100 decisions*. If we include subtle, habitual choices, that number can rise to several hundred*. In complex professional environments, where context-awareness is crucial, this number can easily surpass a thousand*.
Most decisions happen automatically, influenced by biases and habits we rarely notice. In my own research on how biases impact business decisions, I discovered an average of 18 biases per question.
There are numerous contexts to this question, and at least 13 biases that I outlined as possible answers in UX Core. Here are a few sample answers (#bias_number + bias name + answer):
- #72 Consensus bias, #89 Backfire effect. We should constantly ask less competent colleagues how they interpreted certain decisions, instructions, or just information. We need to remind ourselves that our colleagues and we will never be synced in understanding the situation.
- #81 Escalation of commitment. We should not place the blame for a mistake entirely on one incompetent team member, especially if the participant has decision-making power. We need to create an environment where the entire team is responsible for mistakes (and successes) from the start.
- #69 Overconfidence effect, #77 Illusory superiority. We need to create an atmosphere where no statement is final without consideration by other team members. By giving a colleague power to make the final decision, we kill the pluralism of opinions and cause significant harm to the project as a whole.
To a keen eye, this may look like common sense.
To a cognitive scientist, it appears as research-based data they knew.
To a malicious actor, it represents an opportunity to build a manipulative strategy.
To a cognitive scientist, it appears as research-based data they knew.
To a malicious actor, it represents an opportunity to build a manipulative strategy.
What will it look like to you?
The only thing that can be said for certain is that understanding biases, as well as wrapping your own intuition and expertise into research-backed terms will boost your confidence as well as make your actions bolder and much more efficient.
Key takeaway from this is that decisions are at the core of our life. They are what makes us humans.
Putting Two Pieces Together
If Human beings are essentially decision-making machines, and Thinking is the core skill behind every decision we make, improving how we think must become our top priority in modern society.
I'm omitting topics of biohacking and brain health, although they are highly valuable.
Instead, I’m advocating specifically for understanding behavioral and cognitive science, starting with cognitive biases. Why? Because knowing them protects you from external manipulation, and empowers you to make confident, clear decisions exactly when they matter most.
Instead, I’m advocating specifically for understanding behavioral and cognitive science, starting with cognitive biases. Why? Because knowing them protects you from external manipulation, and empowers you to make confident, clear decisions exactly when they matter most.
But how much benefit can learning cognitive biases actually bring you? Let’s talk numbers.
To keep things cautious, let’s assume your understanding of biases improves each decision by only 1%—a deliberately pessimistic estimate.
Let’s also conservatively assume you make about 70 conscious decisions per day (again, very pessimistic number, although knowledge workers realistically make thousands).
Here's the real-world return on investing (RoI) in your learning of cognitive biases (your Thinking skill):
30 days (~1.35×): You’ll notice clear improvements in everyday choices.
60 days (~1.82×): Your decisions are nearly twice as effective.
90 days (~2.45×): Your decision-making quality more than doubles.
180 days (~6×): You’re making dramatically better choices than before.
365 days (~38×): Your decisions become radically more effective.
The smarter you are, the smarter you become - daily. That's why the value of your knowledge keeps growing. And if you're a knowledge worker, your paycheck grows with it, multiplied.
Become Responsible For Your Life
Now, let’s say I sold you the idea. What should you do? Well, good news is that UX Core has become a much more powerful project than it was five years ago, so it’ll be easy to jot down a comprehensive plan.
But let’s make this clear: this isn’t just another quick-read article or flashy website. Treat UX Core like a meaningful book—something that requires genuine focus, effort, and intention.
Step 1: Gain a basic understanding of concepts by simply browsing the project's main page. Think.
Step 2: Navigate to Guide module, and find questions to which you can personally relate. Think.
Step 3: Navigate to the uxCAT module - an interactive game that will allow you to measure your bias-awareness, while also letting you hone your bias-recognition skills in real-world scenarios. Pass one test daily over 30 days. Ideally, reach the last level - 10th.
Bonus: You can bookmark my custom GPT in OpenAI. I trained it on UX Core data and a ton of my notes, so it’ll be a good go-to for quick answers in different life situations. It was banned recently due to ethics reasons, but I did my best to bring it back somehow. So far so good.
Yes, you'll likely get tired along the way—good. It means you're actively rewiring your thinking. Push through, because the payoff is immense: clearer decisions, stronger self-awareness, and greater confidence. Permanently.
The more seriously you commit, the greater your returns. No shortcuts.
Finally, if you have an audience and want to help me make an impact, drop me a message on Telegram or X (or simply share it).
Good luck,
Wolf Alexanyan.
