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Essential Knowledge for Learning Management ---- Jiang Chunming

　　[Butterfly Effect]

　　[Frog Phenomenon]

　　[Crocodile Rule]

　　[Catfish Effect]

　　[Herd Effect]

　　[Hedgehog Rule]

　　[Watch Law]

　　[Broken Windows Theory]

　　[80/20 Rule]

　　[Bucket Theory]

　　[Matthew Effect]

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　　01- Butterfly Effect: The Butterfly Effect. The Butterfly Effect: In the 1970s, an American meteorologist named Lorenz explained the air system theory by saying that the occasional flap of a butterfly's wings in the Amazon rainforest might cause a tornado in Texas, USA, two weeks later.

　　The Butterfly Effect means that very small changes in initial conditions, when continuously amplified, can cause extremely large differences in future states. Some small matters can be overlooked, but some small matters, when amplified by the system, are very important to an organization or a country and cannot be ignored.

　　Management Insights

　　Today's enterprises are also influenced by the "Butterfly Effect." Consumers increasingly trust their feelings, so brand consumption, shopping environment, service attitude... these intangible values become factors in their choices. Therefore, with a little attention, it is not difficult to see that some well-managed and well-operated companies include sentences like these in their corporate philosophy:

　　"In your statistics, only one out of 100 customers is dissatisfied, so you may proudly claim only 1% nonconformance, but for that customer, what they receive is 100% dissatisfaction."

　　"If you are unkind to a customer once, the company needs ten times or even more effort to make up for it."

　　"In the eyes of the customer, you represent the company."

　　Today, the "butterflies" that can change the fate of enterprises are far more than just the "hand of planning." With China Unicom joining telecom competition, private enterprises contracting railway special trains, and foreign-funded enterprises in Nanjing participating in bus competition, the monopolistic position of enterprises is gradually weakening. Open competition forces enterprises to consider various potential factors affecting development.

　　Measures such as streamlining organizations, laying off officials, and canceling welfare housing have led more people away from traditional security, and consequently, they must rely on themselves to determine their fate. The result of free combinations of organizations and individuals is: whoever can capture the "butterfly" beneficial to life will not be abandoned by society.

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　　02- Frog Phenomenon: The Frog Phenomenon: If a frog is placed directly into a pot of hot water, it will quickly jump out because it is very sensitive to adverse environments. However, if a frog is placed in cold water and the temperature is gradually increased, the frog will not immediately jump out. The gradual increase in water temperature eventually results in the frog being boiled to death because by the time the water is too hot for the frog to endure, it is too late or incapable of jumping out.

　　The Frog Phenomenon tells us that some sudden events often easily alert people, but what is deadly is the gradual deterioration of the actual situation under a false sense of security without clear awareness.

　　Insights:

　　The first insight is: The main threats to the survival of our organizations and society do not come from sudden events but from slow, gradual, and imperceptible processes. People are shortsighted, only seeing parts and unable to see the whole picture. They can calmly face sudden changes but fail to perceive quietly occurring major changes, which will ultimately bring more serious harm!

　　The second insight is: The frog is like the masses in our lives. We must focus on the future, be diligent in thinking about new problems, and be eager to learn new knowledge. We cannot live a life of "drink today because there is wine today" or "be a monk for a day and ring the bell for a day" in a drunken stupor, which will be very sad in the end!

　　The third insight is: Today's society is an era of knowledge explosion and rapid change, and knowledge needs constant updating. Therefore, we should not indulge in or be complacent with the status quo and lack progress. Otherwise, we will definitely be eliminated by the times and face the risk of unemployment!

　　The fourth insight is: We should not only face sudden dangers but also ignore slow and subtle dangers because those slow and subtle dangers are the most frightening!

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　　03- Crocodile Rule: The Crocodile Rule originally means that if a crocodile bites your foot and you try to pull your foot away with your hand, the crocodile will bite both your foot and hand. The more you struggle, the more you get bitten. So, if a crocodile bites your foot, the only way is to sacrifice one foot.

　　For example, in the stock market, the Crocodile Rule means that when you find your trades diverging from the market direction, you must immediately cut losses without any delay or taking chances.

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　　04- Catfish Effect: Previously, sardines had a low survival rate during transportation. Later, it was found that placing a catfish among the sardines greatly improved their survival rate. Why is that?

　　It turns out that when a catfish enters an unfamiliar environment, it becomes "irritable" and swims around restlessly. For the many sedentary sardines, this acts as a stirring effect; and the sardines, noticing this "alien element," become nervous and swim faster. This solves the problem of oxygen deficiency for the sardines, preventing their death.

　　When an organization reaches a relatively stable state, it often means a decrease in employee enthusiasm. A harmonious group is not necessarily a highly efficient one. At this time, the "Catfish Effect" plays a good "therapeutic" role. If there is always a "catfish-type" person in an organization, it will undoubtedly activate the workforce and improve work performance.

　　The "Catfish Effect" is one of the effective measures for corporate leadership to stimulate employee vitality. It manifests in two aspects: first, the company must continuously introduce fresh blood, bringing in energetic and quick-thinking young forces into the workforce and even management, creating competitive pressure on lazy and bureaucratic employees who are complacent and conservative, thereby awakening the survival awareness and competitive spirit of the "sardines." Second, it is necessary to continuously introduce new technologies, new processes, new equipment, and new management concepts to enable the company to navigate the market waves, enhancing its survival and adaptability.

　　Regarding the application of the Catfish Effect, it has been applied in human resource management and leadership activities, including establishing competitive mechanisms, utilizing talented individuals, and transforming leadership styles. However, the author believes that the analysis and application of the Catfish Effect go far beyond these. Different perspectives on problems lead to different ways of discovering and solving them.

　　First, if the catfish itself represents the leader.

　　A leader is an individual or group that influences others to complete tasks. In a stagnant sardine box, sardines symbolize a highly homogeneous group with similar skill levels, lacking innovation and initiative, with inefficiency and redundancy. The arrival of a catfish leader (or the evolution of an internal sardine into a catfish) brings new energy: the new leader enforces discipline, standardizes systems, reforms processes, and allocates positions and resources reasonably. Gradually, the organization’s operations improve, costs decrease, the bloated structure is streamlined, incompetent sardines are removed or driven away, and capable sardines receive positive incentives. This revitalizes the entire organization, making the collective stronger and laying a solid foundation for market dominance and retention under the catfish leader’s guidance.

　　From this perspective, a catfish leader should possess the following traits:

　　1- Decisive and vigorous: Quickly identify organizational stagnation issues and decisively and effectively resolve them.

　　2- Trustworthy and strong-willed: Make scientific decisions and supervise their implementation, timely evaluating policy effectiveness.

　　3- Advocate innovation and results-oriented: Promote innovation and create an atmosphere that encourages it, reflecting innovative ideas in business processes, job design, recruitment and allocation, compensation design, and assessment.

　　4- Achievement-driven and forward-looking: Have short-, medium-, and long-term development plans and goals, foresee organizational development directions and gaps in current and future human resources, effectively identify future talents, and remove personnel who hinder organizational growth.

　　5- Systemic perspective and willingness to reform: Observe changes and functions of the organizational system internally and externally. Consider oneself both as part of the organization (relative to the fisherman, the catfish leader is also a sardine; the fisherman is the true leader) and as a leader within a subsystem, capable of mobilizing the workforce to break conventions and achieve good results.

　　For employees striving toward common goals under a leader with catfish traits, survival means moving, energizing themselves, at least keeping pace with the catfish and ensuring alignment with the same direction (corporate goals). Otherwise, they risk being caught and eliminated by the catfish or being crowded out and suffocated by other sardines.

　　Second, if the catfish represents a member of the team.

　　It then signifies newness, novelty, and difference, including differing viewpoints, behaviors, and habits. It is precisely because of these differences that wisdom is stimulated. A team needs members with diverse personalities, skills, and work experiences. If all employees are homogeneous, the possibility of generating creative ideas and high performance is minimal. In today’s focus on team building and communication, appropriately attracting some catfish into the team brings a lively work atmosphere, innovation, and win-win outcomes. However, the number of catfish should be controlled. If everyone is a catfish, the team will suffer from "everyone is a hero, but the whole is a bear," as each catfish insists on their own views, eliminating cooperation and communication, resulting in chaos. Therefore, some Japanese companies believe in the principle of "first-class managers, second-class employees." Since one catfish can stir up a group of fish, there is no need for a second. This is similar to the saying that two tigers cannot share one mountain. From this perspective, catfish members in a team should focus on positive communication and influence, while other employees should strengthen cooperation with them based on work.

　　Third, if the catfish represents exciting work content.

　　In many companies today, organizational structure and job design remain major challenges in process reform. Unreasonable, dull, unpromising, and monotonous work makes people feel like a crowded sardine can with no passion, unwilling to think or improve their roles, gradually forming collective inertia. Applying the catfish effect of expanding and enriching work design (Job designing) can clearly contribute financially to the organization. How to place active, passionate catfish into stagnant work is a tricky issue. Some advocate expanding work scope horizontally and vertically, deepening content so employees experience rich activities and the achievement of hard work, feeling excitement and desire when facing challenging, stimulating tasks. Others suggest job rotation to develop talents, letting the catfish in work swim more joyfully. The author advocates applying these measures while emphasizing matching people with job personalities: catfish should do catfish work, sardines should do sardine work. Jobs should contain both catfish and sardine characteristics. Most importantly, discover employees’ preferences and identify which tasks ignite their catfish-like motivation and passion. Only with this match can the catfish effect truly work; otherwise, even if catfish-type tasks are set, if they fail to move or motivate employees, the catfish becomes a dead fish.

　　From this perspective, catfish in work represent rich content, exciting responsibilities and rights, challenging expectations, and fresh experiences in other roles. For leaders and HR managers, whether and at what level to set catfish work is a strategic organizational issue.

　　In summary, analyzing from different perspectives, the content represented by catfish varies. For a practitioner, the leader might be the catfish, so your efforts are best aligned with the organization’s direction; do not swim backward, or you risk being eaten. Always swim upward with passion; perhaps one day you will become the catfish, driving a group of sardines to strive upward. Your colleagues might also be catfish, so compete with them to see who can generate more energy. Your subordinates might be catfish too, so while motivating them to grow, don’t forget to recharge yourself and maintain strong momentum; otherwise, you risk being eaten by your subordinates. There might be catfish in your work as well, so arrange your tasks reasonably, prioritize, and let the catfish work swim happily, ideally moving up to a higher position to stir things up.

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　　05-The Effect of Sheep Flock

　　Sheep Flock Effect: Wherever the lead sheep goes, the following sheep will go there too.

　　The sheep flock effect was originally a term in stock investment, mainly referring to the phenomenon where investors learn and imitate during trading, blindly following others, leading them to buy and sell the same stocks during certain periods.

　　Sheep Flock Effect Theory (The Effect of Sheep Flock)

　　If a stick is placed horizontally in front of a flock of sheep, the first sheep will jump over it, followed by the second and third. If the stick is then removed, the following sheep will still jump as if the stick were there. This is called the "sheep flock effect" or "herd mentality." It refers to a common phenomenon in business market behavior in management. Due to insufficient information and lack of understanding, investors find it difficult to make reasonable expectations about market uncertainties and often extract information by observing others' behavior. In this continuous transmission of information, many people's information becomes similar and mutually reinforcing, resulting in herd behavior. The "sheep flock effect" is a nonlinear mechanism where individual rational behavior leads to collective irrational behavior.

　　Herd behavior is a typical phenomenon in behavioral finance that mainstream financial theories cannot explain. Economics often uses the "sheep flock effect" to describe the herd mentality of economic individuals. A flock of sheep is a disorganized group that blindly rushes left and right. Once a lead sheep moves, others follow without thinking, ignoring possible dangers like wolves ahead or better grass nearby. Thus, the "sheep flock effect" metaphorically describes people's herd mentality, which easily leads to blind following, often resulting in scams or failures.

　　The sheep flock effect usually appears in highly competitive industries where a leader (lead sheep) captures most attention. The entire flock continuously imitates the leader's every move; wherever the leader goes to "graze," the other sheep go there to "seek gold."

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　　06-Hedgehog Principle: The Hedgehog Principle describes two sleepy hedgehogs huddling together for warmth due to cold. However, because they have spines, they move apart but get cold again and come closer. After some struggle, they find a suitable distance where they can share warmth without hurting each other.

　　Application of the Hedgehog Principle

　　The Hedgehog Principle mainly refers to the "psychological distance effect" in interpersonal communication.

　　French President Charles de Gaulle was a master at applying the Hedgehog Principle. His motto was "Maintain a certain distance!" This deeply influenced his relationships with advisors, think tanks, and staff. During his more than ten years as president, no one in his secretariat, office, or private staff worked more than two years. He told new office directors, "I use you for two years; just as people cannot make the staff their career, you cannot make the office director your career." This rule had two reasons: first, he believed rotation was normal and permanence abnormal, influenced by military practice where troops are mobile and not fixed in one place. Second, he did not want "these people" to become indispensable to him. This showed de Gaulle was a leader who relied mainly on his own thinking and decisions and did not tolerate having people he could never do without. Only rotation could maintain a certain distance, and only by maintaining distance could advisors and staff keep their thinking fresh and energetic, preventing long-term advisors from abusing the president and government for personal gain.

　　De Gaulle's approach is thought-provoking and admirable. Without a sense of distance, leaders overly relying on secretaries or a few people risk allowing advisors to interfere in politics, who might then exploit the leader's name for personal gain, ultimately dragging the leader down, which is very dangerous. Comparatively, maintaining a certain distance is better.

　　General Electric Company

　　Former General Electric president Jack Welch practiced the Hedgehog Theory diligently, especially in dealing with middle and senior managers. At work and regarding benefits, Welch never hesitated to show care for managers, but outside work hours, he never invited them home nor accepted their invitations. This moderate distance management allowed GE's businesses to flourish steadily. Maintaining a certain distance from employees prevents you from being aloof or confusing roles with employees. This is the best state of management. Distance is maintained by certain principles applied equally to everyone, restraining both leaders and employees. Mastering this principle is the secret to successful management.

　　"From Good to Great"

　　In the book "From Good to Great," author Collins reinterprets the Hedgehog Theory. It means that no matter how the fox tries to harm the hedgehog, the hedgehog only needs to curl up, and the fox is powerless. This shows that as long as a company finds a simple and effective development model, it can easily cope with any market or competitor changes and achieve rapid growth.

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　　07-Watch Law: Watch Law means that when a person has one watch, they can know the time, but when they have two watches, they cannot determine the correct time. Two watches do not provide more accurate time but instead cause the wearer to lose confidence in the accuracy.

　　The Watch Law offers a clear insight into business management: one cannot use two different methods simultaneously on the same person or organization, nor set two different goals at the same time, nor have one person commanded by two leaders simultaneously. Otherwise, the enterprise or individual will be confused and unable to act.

　　[Fable Story]

　　The Story of the Monkey and the Watch

　　A group of monkeys lived in the forest. Every day when the sun rose, they went out to forage, and when the sun set, they returned to rest. Their lives were simple and happy.

　　A tourist passed through the forest and left a watch on a rock under a tree, which was picked up by a monkey named "Mengke." The clever "Mengke" quickly figured out the use of the watch, and thus became the star of the entire monkey group. Every monkey asked "Mengke" for the exact time, and the group's schedule was planned by "Mengke." Gradually, "Mengke" gained prestige and became the monkey king.

　　As the monkey king, "Mengke" believed the watch brought him good luck, so he patrolled the forest every day hoping to find more watches. His efforts paid off, and "Mengke" acquired a second and then a third watch.

　　However, "Mengke" faced a new problem: each watch showed a different time, so which one was correct? "Mengke" was puzzled by this question. When subordinates asked for the time, "Mengke" hesitated and couldn't give a clear answer, causing the group's schedule to become chaotic. After a while, the monkeys rebelled, pushing "Mengke" off the throne, and the new monkey king took over "Mengke's" collection. But soon, the new king faced the same confusion as "Mengke."

　　This is the famous "Watch Law": only one watch can tell the time; having two or more watches makes it impossible to know the exact time. More clocks do not provide more accurate time but instead cause people to lose confidence in the correct time.

　　[Law Inspiration]

　　The Watch Law gives us a very intuitive insight:

　　For any matter, you cannot set two different goals at the same time, or it will cause confusion; a person cannot adopt two different value systems simultaneously, or their behavior will become chaotic.

　　A person cannot be directed by more than two people at once, or they will be confused; for a company, it cannot adopt two different management methods simultaneously, or it will fail to develop.

　　In this regard, the merger of AOL and Time Warner is a typical failure case. AOL was a young internet company with a corporate culture emphasizing flexibility and rapid decision-making, all aimed at quickly capturing the market. Time Warner, over its long development, had built a corporate culture emphasizing integrity and innovation.

　　After the merger, the senior management failed to resolve the conflict between the two value systems, leaving employees completely unclear about the company's future direction. Ultimately, the century-old marriage of Time Warner and AOL ended in failure. This fully illustrates that to know the time, one accurate watch is enough.

　　Only choose what you believe is right.

　　Two watches cannot tell a person a more accurate time; instead, they cause the watcher to lose confidence in the correct time. What you need to do is choose the one you trust more, calibrate it as much as possible, and use it as your standard, following its guidance.

　　Nietzsche once said: "Brother, if you are lucky, you only need one morality and not be greedy for more; this way, crossing the bridge will be easier." If everyone "chooses what you love and loves what you choose," they can be at peace regardless of success or failure. However, many are troubled because they are confused by "two watches," exhausted and unsure which to trust.

　　Some people, under environmental or external pressure, choose a path they do not like against their will and live in melancholy for life. Even if they achieve remarkable success, they cannot feel the joy of success.

　　Life Lessons

　　In real life, we often encounter similar situations. For example, two elective courses both interest you, but their schedules overlap, and you don't have enough energy to excel in both. It's hard to choose. When faced with two equally excellent and interested boys, you will also struggle for a long time, unsure how to decide.

　　When choosing a job, if two companies have similar locations and benefits, where will you go? At every crossroads in life, we face the dilemma of "you can't have both the fish and the bear's paw."

　　When facing conflicting choices, we recommend using the "fuzzy psychology." "Fuzzy psychology" means that in difficult decision-making situations, you rely mainly on your subconscious mind to make choices that align with your subconscious.

　　Psychological research shows that "fuzzy psychology" is actually a psychological accumulation built up during growth. You may not be able to state a clear reason, but through the subconscious, you can generally make decisions that best meet your psychological needs. The subconscious here is what we commonly call the first impression. "Fuzzy psychology" provides the safest psychological protection when facing conflicting choices and is therefore worth advocating.

　　Core idea: More choices and more standards cause confusion.

　　Application tips: Clarify goals, avoid distractions; know how to make trade-offs and let go when necessary.

　　Application fields: Social life, business management.

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　　08 - Broken Window Theory: Break Pane Law

　　Broken Window Theory: If a house has a broken window and no one repairs it, soon other windows will mysteriously be broken; if a wall has graffiti that is not cleaned, soon the wall will be covered with messy and unsightly marks; in a very clean place, people hesitate to litter, but once there is trash on the ground, people will throw garbage without hesitation and feel no shame. Broken Window Theory 1

　　Also called the "Broken Window Fallacy," it originates from an analogy by a scholar named Hazlitt in a booklet (some believe this theory was summarized by the 19th-century French economist Bastiat as a critique, seen in his famous article "What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen"). Hazlitt said that if a child breaks a window, it will lead to replacing the glass, which will employ glaziers and glass producers, thus promoting social employment.

　　Here, the scholar aimed to illustrate the consequences of children's behavior and government actions, thoroughly rejecting Keynesian government intervention policies. The "Broken Window Theory" is a typical example of "destruction creates wealth." Applying such fallacies to floods, earthquakes, or wars seems fitting.

　　Broken Window Theory 2

　　Also called the Broken Window Effect (Break Pane Law)

　　If a window is broken and not repaired, it will lead to more windows being broken, and even the entire building being demolished.

　　The "Broken Window Theory," observed and summarized by American political scientist Wilson and criminologist Kelling, points out that the environment can have a strong suggestive and inducive effect on a person.

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　　09-Pareto Principle: Pareto principle

　　The Pareto Principle (Pareto Law): At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Italian economist Pareto believed that in any group of things, the most important only accounts for a small part, about 20%, while the remaining 80%, although the majority, are secondary. About 80% of society's wealth is concentrated in the hands of 20% of the people, while 80% of the people only own 20% of the social wealth. This statistical imbalance is everywhere in society, economy, and life, which is the Pareto Principle.

　　The Pareto Principle tells us not to analyze, handle, and view problems evenly. In business operation and management, focus on the vital few; identify the key customers who bring 80% of the profits but only account for 20% of the total, strengthen services to achieve twice the result with half the effort; business leaders should carefully classify and analyze work, focusing main energy on solving major problems and key projects.

　　20% of people succeed ------------------ 80% of people do not succeed

　　20% of people earn money above the neck -------- 80% of people earn money below the neck

　　20% of people think positively -------------- 80% of people think negatively

　　20% of people buy time ---------------- 80% of people sell time

　　20% of people look for a good employee ---------- 80% of people look for a good job

　　20% of people control others -------------- 80% of people are controlled

　　20% of people do careers ---------------- 80% of people do tasks

　　20% of people value experience -------------- 80% of people value academic qualifications

　　20% of people believe action leads to results ------ 80% of people believe knowledge is power

　　20% of people ask how to make money ------ 80% of people say if I have money, I will do it

　　20% of people love investing ---------------- 80% of people love shopping

　　20% of people have goals ---------------- 80% of people daydream

　　20% of people look for answers in problems -------- 80% of people look for problems in answers

　　20% of people look far ahead ------------ 80% of people only care about the present

　　20% of people seize opportunities -------------- 80% of people miss opportunities

　　20% of people plan for the future -------------- 80% of people only think about what to do after waking up

　　20% of people act according to successful experience -------- 80% of people act according to their own wishes

　　20% of people do simple things ---------- 80% of people are unwilling to do simple things

　　20% of people do tomorrow's work today ------ 80% of people do today's work tomorrow

　　20% of people ask how to accomplish it ------------ 80% of people say it's impossible

　　20% of people take notes ---------------- 80% of people have a good memory for forgetting

　　20% of people are influenced by successful people -------- 80% of people are influenced by unsuccessful people

　　20% of people are in a good state -------------- 80% of people have a bad attitude

　　20% of people believe they will succeed -------------- 80% of people are unwilling to change the environment

　　20% of people always praise and encourage -------------- 80% of people always scold and criticize

　　20% of people will persist -------------- 80% of people will give up

　　10-Bucket Theory: Buckets effect The Bucket Theory: If the wooden boards that make up a bucket are uneven in length, the water capacity of the bucket is not determined by the longest board, but by the shortest board.

　　The bucket effect means that for a bucket to be filled with water, every wooden board must be even and undamaged. If one board is uneven or has a hole underneath, the bucket cannot be filled. It means the amount of water a bucket can hold depends not on the longest board but on the shortest one. Also called the short board effect. No matter how tall a bucket is, the water height depends on the shortest board.

　　Also known as the bucket principle or short board theory, the bucket short board management theory, the core content of the "bucket theory" or "bucket law" is: the amount of water a bucket can hold does not depend on the tallest board on the bucket wall but precisely on the shortest board. Based on this core content, the "bucket theory" has two corollaries: first, only if all the boards on the bucket wall are tall enough can the bucket be filled with water. Second, if there is one board in the bucket that is not tall enough, the bucket cannot be full of water.

　　11-Matthew Effect: Matthew Effect The Matthew Effect: A famous saying in the Bible, Gospel of Matthew: "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

　　The Matthew Effect refers to the phenomenon where the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker, widely applied in social psychology, education, finance, and science. Its name comes from a parable in the New Testament, Gospel of Matthew: "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." The Matthew Effect contradicts the "way of balance" and is similar to the Pareto Principle, being a very important natural law.

　　1. Birdcage Logic

　　Hanging a beautiful birdcage in the most conspicuous place in a room, after a few days, the owner will definitely make one of the following two choices: throw away the birdcage or buy a bird to put in the cage. This is birdcage logic. The process is simple: imagine you are the owner of this room, whenever someone enters and sees the birdcage, they can't help but ask, "Where is the bird? Is it dead?" When you answer, "I have never kept a bird," people will ask, "Then why do you want a birdcage?" In the end, you have to choose one of the two options because this is much easier than endless explanations. The reason for birdcage logic is simple: most people think by inertia. This shows how important it is to cultivate logical thinking in life and work.

　　2. Broken Window Effect

　　In psychological research, there is a phenomenon called the "Broken Window Effect," which means that if a window of a house is broken and no one repairs it, soon other windows will inexplicably be broken as well; if a wall has some graffiti that is not cleaned, soon the wall will be covered with messy and unsightly marks. In a very clean place, people feel embarrassed to litter, but once there is trash on the ground, people will throw garbage without hesitation and feel no shame. This is a very strange phenomenon.

　　Psychologists study this "tipping point"—how dirty the ground must be before people think, "It's already so dirty, a little more won't matter," and how bad the situation must get before people give up and let it deteriorate completely.

　　Any bad thing, if not stopped at the beginning and allowed to become a trend, becomes hard to change. It's like a riverbank: a small breach not repaired in time can cause a dam collapse, resulting in losses multiplied by millions.

　　Crime is actually the result of disorder. In New York City during the 1980s, robberies and killings were everywhere; people were afraid to walk on the streets even in broad daylight. The subway was even worse—dirty and chaotic, covered with obscene graffiti, and everyone felt unsafe riding it. Although I was never robbed, a professor I know was struck with a blunt object in broad daylight, lost his eyesight, and ended his academic career. This made me fearful for many years and reluctant to attend conferences in New York alone. Recently, New York's city appearance and reputation have improved significantly, which surprised me—a city that had sunk so low was able to revive and improve.

　　Therefore, when I went to a conference and met a criminologist, I immediately asked him. It turned out that New York City applied the theory of the Broken Window Effect from textbooks: first improving the environment to make crime difficult, then gradually arresting criminals and restoring order.

　　Although this approach was criticized as too slow and ineffective—"cleaning the deck while the ship is sinking"—New York started by keeping subway cars clean and publicly handcuffed fare evaders in a line on the platform to show the government's determination to reform. The results were very effective.

　　Police found that people were indeed less likely to commit crimes in clean environments and that catching fare evaders was very rewarding because one in every seven fare evaders was a wanted criminal, and one in every twenty carried weapons. Therefore, police took fare evasion seriously, which deterred criminals from fare evasion and carrying weapons outside, avoiding greater losses. Thus, New York started from the smallest and easiest place, breaking the crime chain and stopping the vicious cycle.

　　3. Diffusion of Responsibility Effect

　　At 3:20 a.m. on March 13, 1964, in front of an apartment in the suburbs of New York, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked on her way home from work at a bar. She desperately shouted, "Someone is trying to kill me! Help! Help!" Nearby residents turned on their lights and opened windows, scaring the attacker away. After things calmed down, the attacker returned. When she shouted again, neighbors turned on the lights again, and the attacker fled once more. Thinking it was safe, she went back inside, but the attacker appeared again and killed her on the stairs. During this, although she called for help loudly, at least 38 neighbors watched from their windows but no one came to help or called the police. This incident shocked New York society and drew attention from social psychologists. This phenomenon, where many bystanders fail to help, is called the diffusion of responsibility effect.

　　Psychologists conducted many experiments and surveys on the causes of the diffusion of responsibility effect and found that it cannot simply be attributed to people's coldness or moral decline. People's helping behavior varies in different situations. When a person is alone in an emergency, they are aware of their responsibility and help the victim, feeling guilt if they do not. This guilt carries a high psychological cost. However, when many people are present, the responsibility to help is shared, causing diffusion of responsibility. Each person feels less responsible and may not even realize their share, leading to a mindset of "I'll let someone else help," resulting in collective indifference. How to break this situation is an important topic psychologists are studying.

　　4. Parkinson's Law

　　The famous British historian C. Northcote Parkinson, through long-term research, wrote a book called "Parkinson's Law." In it, he explained the causes and consequences of organizational staff expansion: An incompetent official may have three options: first, resign and let a capable person take the position; second, hire a capable person to assist; third, hire two less competent assistants. The first option is unacceptable because it means losing power; the second is avoided because the capable assistant could become a rival; thus, the third option is chosen. Two mediocre assistants share his work while he commands from above. Since the assistants are incompetent, they imitate this by hiring even less competent assistants, and so on, creating a bloated organization with inefficiency and internal conflicts.

　　5. Halo Effect

　　The famous Russian literary giant Pushkin suffered greatly from the halo effect. He passionately fell in love with Natalya, known as "Moscow's most beautiful woman," and married her. Natalya was stunning but incompatible with Pushkin's ideals. Whenever Pushkin read his poems to her, she covered her ears and said, "Don't listen! Don't listen!" Instead, she wanted Pushkin to accompany her to parties and balls, causing him to neglect his writing, accumulate debts, and eventually die in a duel for her, prematurely ending a literary star's life. Pushkin believed that a beautiful woman must also have extraordinary wisdom and noble character, but this was not the case. This phenomenon is called the halo effect.

　　The so-called halo effect refers to a phenomenon in interpersonal communication where a certain characteristic of a person overshadows other traits, causing obstacles in interpersonal perception. In daily life, the "halo effect" often quietly influences our cognition and evaluation of others. For example, some elderly people may dislike certain minor faults, clothing, or habits of young people and conclude that they are unsuccessful; some young people, admiring a charming trait in a friend, may see them as perfect in every way, truly "one handsome feature hides a hundred flaws." The halo effect is a subjective psychological assumption that generalizes from a part to the whole. Its errors lie in: first, it tends to focus on individual traits and generalize from them, like the blind men touching an elephant, substituting a part for the whole; second, it links unrelated personality or appearance traits and asserts that having one trait necessarily means having another; third, it either fully affirms the good or completely denies the bad, showing an absolutist tendency driven by subjective bias. In short, the halo effect is a significant cognitive obstacle in interpersonal interactions, and we should strive to avoid and overcome its side effects in communication.

　　6. Hawthorne Effect

　　A type of experimenter effect in psychology. In the 1920s and 1930s, American researchers discovered the experimenter effect during experiments on the relationship between working conditions, social factors, and productivity at the Western Electric Company's Hawthorne plant in Chicago, which became known as the Hawthorne effect.

　　The first phase of the experiment began in November 1924, studying the relationship between working conditions and productivity, with experimental and control groups. Regardless of whether lighting was increased or controlled, the output of the experimental group rose, and the output of the control group with unchanged lighting also increased. Additionally, factors such as wages, break times, daily working hours, and weekly working days were tested, but no direct impact on productivity was observed. The second phase, led by Harvard professor Mayo, focused on social factors and productivity, finding that productivity improvements were mainly due to significant psychological changes in the participants. Workers placed in a special laboratory under researchers' leadership experienced changes in social status and attention, creating a sense of participation and importance within the company, which socially motivated them and boosted output.

　　This effect tells us that when students or ourselves receive public attention or observation, the efficiency of learning and interaction greatly increases. Therefore, in daily life, we should learn to get along well with others, understand what behaviors are accepted and appreciated by classmates and teachers, and continuously increase our good behaviors in life and study. Only then can we gain more attention and praise from others, enabling our learning to progress steadily and confidently!

　　7. Learned Helplessness Experiment

　　The learned helplessness effect was first discovered by Overmier and Seligman and later widely studied in animals and humans. Simply put, many experiments show that trained dogs can jump over barriers or perform other actions to escape electric shocks administered by experimenters. However, if dogs previously experienced unpredictable (not knowing when it would occur) and uncontrollable shocks (where stopping the shock did not depend on the dog's behavior), they later became helpless to escape even when given the chance. Moreover, the dogs exhibited other defects such as depression, suppression, and reduced initiative.

　　The reason dogs show this condition is that they learned a sense of helplessness early in the experiment. That is, they realized that no matter what they did, they could not control the termination of the shocks. In each experiment, the shock's end was controlled by the experimenter, and the dogs recognized their inability to change this external control, thus learning helplessness.

　　If humans develop learned helplessness, it leads to deep despair and sorrow. Therefore, in learning and life, we should broaden our perspective to see the true determining factors behind events and avoid falling into despair.

　　8. Witness Memory

　　Witnesses, in our understanding, are usually people who provide objective evidence, truthfully recounting what they have seen or heard. However, psychological research shows that many witness testimonies are inaccurate or biased, reflecting personal viewpoints and consciousness.

　　The confidence witnesses have in their testimonies does not determine the accuracy of their statements, which is surprising. Psychologists Perfect and Hollins decided to study this conclusion more deeply. To examine whether witness testimony has special characteristics, they compared witness memory with memory of general knowledge.

　　They showed participants a short video about a girl being kidnapped. The next day, participants answered questions about the video content and rated their confidence in their answers, followed by a recognition memory test. Then, using the same method, they tested general knowledge questions selected from encyclopedias and popular reading materials.

　　As before, Perfect and Hollins found that in terms of accuracy of witness recall, those confident in their answers were not actually more accurate than those who lacked confidence. However, for general knowledge, confident individuals performed much better than those less confident.

　　People have self-awareness of their strengths and weaknesses in general knowledge and tend to adjust their confidence ratings accordingly. General knowledge is a shared database among individuals with recognized correct answers that participants can assess themselves. For example, people know whether they are better or worse than others in sports questions. However, eyewitness events are not influenced by this self-awareness. Generally, they are unlikely to know if they remember details like participants' hair color better or worse than others.

　　9. Rosenthal Effect

　　In 1968, American psychologist Rosenthal and colleagues conducted a famous experiment. They went to an elementary school and selected three classes from grades one to six to conduct a seemingly serious "future development prediction test." The experimenters then informed teachers of a list of students believed to have "excellent development potential." In fact, this list was randomly selected, not based on test results. It was an "authoritative lie" intended to suggest expectations to teachers, thereby activating their psychological expectations for the listed students. Eight months later, intelligence test results showed that the listed students' scores generally improved, and teachers gave them positive behavior evaluations. This experiment achieved miraculous results. This phenomenon, where teachers' subtle psychological influence leads students to achieve expected progress, is called the "Rosenthal effect," also known as the Pygmalion effect (Pygmalion was a king in ancient Greek mythology who fell in love with a statue of a young woman, and his desire eventually brought the statue to life, leading to their union).

　　Educational practice also shows that if teachers like certain students and have higher expectations for them, after a period of time, the students will feel the teacher's care, love, and encouragement; they often adopt a positive attitude towards the teacher, learning, and their own behavior. These students become more self-respecting, confident, self-loving, and self-reliant, evoking a positive and upward passion. Such students often achieve the progress expected by the teacher. Conversely, students who are ignored or discriminated against by teachers will gradually sense the teacher's "bias" through their words, actions, and expressions. They tend to adopt a negative attitude towards the teacher and their own learning, ignoring or refusing to follow the teacher's requirements; these students often deteriorate day by day and eventually become undesirable elements in society. Although there are some exceptions, this is the general trend, which also serves as a warning to teachers.

　　10. False Consensus Bias

　　We usually believe that our preferences are the same as most people's. If you like playing computer games, you might overestimate the number of people who like computer games. You also tend to overestimate the number of people who vote for classmates you like, overestimate your prestige and leadership in the group, and so on. This tendency to overestimate the number of people who share your behaviors and attitudes is called "false consensus bias." Several factors influence the strength of this false consensus bias:

　　(1) When external attributions are stronger than internal attributions;

　　(2) When the current behavior or event is very important to someone;

　　(3) When you are very certain or convinced of your own viewpoint;

　　(4) When your status or normal life and study are under some kind of threat;

　　(5) When it involves some positive qualities or personality traits;

　　(6) When you see others as similar to yourself