1. All complex systems are subject to positive and negative feedback loops whereby A causes B, which in turn influences A (and C), and so on - with higher-order effects frequently resulting from continual movement of the loop. In a homeostatic system, a change in A is often brought back into line by an opposite change in B to maintain the balance of the system, as with the temperature of the human body or the behavior of an organizational culture. Automatic feedback loops maintain a 'static' environment unless and until an outside force changes the loop. A 'runaway feedback loop' describes a situation in which the output of a reaction becomes its own catalyst (auto-catalysis).

2. a process used to solve problems and generate ideas in purposely illogical ways; outside the box

3. buying and using products because of the 'statement' they make about social position; a showy display of wealth for social prestige

4. The commonly held idea that we are more consistent in our attitudes and opinions

5. a fallacy which assumes that something new is automatically better than something old

6. behavior that benefits another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future

7. Though the human brain has trouble comprehending it, much of the world is composed of random, non-sequential, non-ordered events. We are 'fooled' by random effects when we attribute causality to things that are actually outside of our control. If we don't course-correct for this fooled-by-randomness effect - our faulty sense of pattern-seeking - we will tend to see things as being more predictable than they are and act accordingly.

8. We believe (without evidence) that a society or institution is going towards decline or failure.

9. Named for Italian polymath Vilfredo Pareto, who noticed that 80% of Italy's land was owned by about 20% of its population, the Pareto Principle states that a small amount of some phenomenon causes a disproportionately large effect. The Pareto Principle is an example of a power-law type of statistical distribution - as distinguished from a traditional bell curve - and is demonstrated in various phenomena ranging from wealth to city populations to important human habits.

10. the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something they have worked hard to attain

11. People often react to disconfirming evidence by strengthening their beliefs

12. Given two markets selling an identical good, an arbitrage exists if the good can profitably be bought in one market and sold at a profit in the other. This model is simple on its face, but can present itself in disguised forms: The only gas station in a 50-mile radius is also an arbitrage as it can buy gasoline and sell it at the desired profit (temporarily) without interference. Nearly all arbitrage situations eventually disappear as they are discovered and exploited.

13. We observe more differences if we compare two products at the same time vs. separately.

14. We overestimate our ability to control impulsive behavior.

15. perceiving a proposed solution to a conflict negatively simply because the out-group offers it

16. A stochastic process is a random statistical process and encompasses a wide variety of processes in which the movement of an individual variable can be impossible to predict but can be thought through probabilistically. The wide variety of stochastic methods helps us describe systems of variables through probabilities without necessarily being able to determine the position of any individual variable over time. For example, it's not possible to predict stock prices on a day-to-day basis, but we can describe the probability of various distributions of their movements over time. Obviously, it is much more likely that the stock market (a stochastic process) will be up or down 1% in a day than up or down 10%, even though we can't predict what tomorrow will bring.

17. allows marketers to strategically use the interference process

18. the recall of events more positively than thought of at the time

19. The map of reality is not reality itself. If any map were to represent its actual territory with perfect fidelity, it would be the size of the territory itself. Thus, no need for a map! This model tells us that there will always be an imperfect relationship between reality and the models we use to represent and understand it. This imperfection is a necessity in order to simplify. It is all we can do to accept this and act accordingly.

20. The amount of time it takes a person or a company to accept and use emerging technology

21. the belief that others are paying more attention to our appearance and behavior than they really are

22. effects of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories

23. occurs when we assume others have the same beliefs we do

24. It's been said that Einstein called compounding a wonder of the world. He probably didn't, but it is a wonder. Compounding is the process by which we add interest to a fixed sum, which then earns interest on the previous sum and the newly added interest, and then earns interest on that amount, and so on ad infinitum. It is an exponential effect, rather than a linear, or additive, effect. Money is not the only thing that compounds; ideas and relationships do as well. In tangible realms, compounding is always subject to physical limits and diminishing returns; intangibles can compound more freely. Compounding also leads to the time value of money, which underlies all of modern finance.

25. Justice runs deep in our veins. In another illustration of our relative sense of well-being, we are careful arbiters of what is fair. Violations of fairness can be considered grounds for reciprocal action, or at least distrust. Yet fairness itself seems to be a moving target. What is seen as fair and just in one time and place may not be in another. Consider that slavery has been seen as perfectly natural and perfectly unnatural in alternating phases of human existence.