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LESSON 7 · The Mental Models Playbook

Applying Hanlon's Razor

Use this principle to reduce unnecessary conflict: assume unintentional error first, ask before accusing, and remember that most slights are not actually about you.

The principle prevents you from manufacturing enemies out of people who are simply human — overworked, distracted, occasionally careless. A single oversight is noise; only a sustained pattern qualifies as signal worth responding to seriously.