# Counterfactuals

*Tom Geraghty · Models & Critique, Measurement*

Examines counterfactual thinking — 'if only we'd done X' — as a form of hindsight bias that sounds analytical but is fictional. Uses Friends and a major cloud outage as entry points to show how counterfactuals tidy messy reality into false clarity, hampering real learning.

- **This page:** https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/counterfactuals/
- **Read the full article on psychsafety.com:** https://psychsafety.com/counterfactuals/
- **Interactive map:** https://explore.psychsafety.com/?node=counterfactuals

## Connected concepts (6)

- [Assessing the Impact of Planned Social Change](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/campbell-1979.md) (paper)
- [Verbal Reports as Data](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/ericsson-simon-1980.md) (paper)
- [Beyond Metrics](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/beyond-metrics.md)
- [Measuring PS](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/measure-psychological-safety.md)
- [Streetlight Effect](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/the-streetlight-effect.md)
- [Social Science vs Epidemiology](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/social_science_epidemiological.md)