What we usually think: "What happened??" Something has to actively happen for us to us to think about causality. E.g. I stayed out too late, so my parents grounded me for a week.

Alternative reasoning: "What's going on??"Systems in balance are generating causal relationships, even if nothing is actively happening at the moment. E.g. On most days, I return home before midnight, so my parents generally give me plenty of personal freedom.

What happened? vs. What’s going on?

What we usually think: “Cause and effect must be easy to perceive.”Some causes are easy to sense and observe. E.g. I’m so hungry now because I haven’t eaten today.

Alternative reasoning: “Cause and effect can be quite hard to notice.”Some causes are not obvious because they are microscopic, imperceptible, or inferred. E.g. I get so hungry these days because I’ve been working out more.

Easy to perceive vs. Hard to perceive

What we usually think: “Someone did it!”Some causes involve someone who wants to do something purposefully. E.g. I was late, so I took an Uber to meet friends at Union Square.

Alternative reasoning: “No one did it.”But other causes don’t involve action or intent to work. Or peoples’ intentions might not actually lead where they intended. E.g. Because I took an Uber instead of the subway, I contributed more to global warming!

Someone did it vs. No one did it

What we usually think: “It’ll always work.”We often think that an effect always follows a given cause. We generalize based on a few events. E.g. Too much candy? Psh, no such thing! I never feel ill no matter how much candy I eat.

Alternative reasoning: “It usually works.”But many effects only sometimes follow a given cause. E.g. Seems like today isn’t my day – I feel sick for the first time after eating10 Hershey’s bars.

It’ll always work vs. It usually works

What we usually think: “Effects happen close to the cause.”We think that causes and effects physically touch each other or are close to each other in space and time. E.g. Going for a dip in the sea causes my fingers to wrinkle up.

Alternative reasoning: “Effects can happen far away from the cause.”But other causes can act at a distance, or there are delays between the cause and effect. E.g. Going for a suntan is unhealthy, because of the sun’s powerful UV rays.

Close to the cause vs. Far from the cause

What we usually think: “Someone’s in charge”We often believe that a central figure or leader causes (and intends) the outcome. E.g. Facebook allows people to show support to selected causes by adding a profile picture filter.

Alternative reasoning: “No one’s in charge.”When the actions and decisions of individuals interact, the end result might not be the same as individual intent. E.g. Community-based creation of alternative filters as a snub to those FB offered..

Someone’s in charge vs. No one’s in charge