Hanlon's Razor · Robert J. Hanlon

Hanlon's razor examples

Curated by · reviewed 2026-05-31

Never attribute to malice what is adequately explained by carelessness, stress, or simple mistake. Most 'attacks' are just people not paying attention.

What is hanlon's razor? Read the full idea →

5 examples of hanlon's razor

  1. The ignored message

    It feels like a snub, but they probably just missed it in a flooded inbox, not iced you out.

  2. The cut-off in traffic

    The driver wasn't out to get you — they didn't see you, or were distracted.

  3. The blunt reply

    A curt email reads as hostile, but they were rushing between meetings, not picking a fight.

  4. The broken promise

    Your colleague forgot, not betrayed you; overload explains far more than spite.

  5. The 'sabotaged' project

    What looks like someone undermining you is usually a missed handoff or unclear instruction.

How to spot it in yourself

You'll forget most of this by next week.

That's just how memory works. Lock hanlon's razor in with a 5-minute active-recall session — spaced repetition, no signup.

Try this idea free →

One tap adds it to your review queue — we bring it back right before you'd forget.

Related ideas