DEEP DIVE: 8 Ways to Make Better Decisions

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood

Kids & Family, Comedy, Parenting

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There is no magic formula to making the perfect decision every time, but there are philosophical principles, or "razors," you can use to pare down your options and see your problem more clearly. These razors can cut through the clutter of complexity and help us see the forest for the trees. And while they weren't designed with parents in mind, they can come in pretty handy! Starting with the most famous, Occam’s Razor, we discuss how paring away unlikely hypotheticals leads to the most accurate solutions. Next, we delve into Hanlon’s Razor, which reminds us to avoid attributing malicious intent when there’s a simpler explanation. This principle can help us avoid unnecessary conflict and foster understanding, especially in relationships. Then we discuss Hitchens’ Razor, which places the burden of proof on the person making the claim. This can be a valuable tool for evaluating arguments and avoiding baseless assertions. We also explore Chesterton’s Fence, which encourages us to be cautious about changing things without understanding their original purpose. But that's not all. Listen to the episode to hear the rest, and let us know your own rules for clearer thinking! Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode: Itamar Shatz for Effectiviology: ⁠"Hanlon’s Razor: Never Attribute to Malice That Which is Adequately Explained by Stupidity"⁠ Farnam Street blog: ⁠Chesterton’s Fence: A Lesson in Thinking⁠ Reallemon for Medium: ⁠Hitchens’s Razor and its Place in Debate⁠ Kendra Cherry for Verywell ⁠Mind: How the Hawthorne Effect Works⁠ ⁠Our episode on decision fatigue⁠ Go to our Facebook group and tell us what rules and razors you live by! ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatfreshhellcast⁠ We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: ⁠https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/⁠ mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent, decision-making, decision fatigue, productivity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ask me anything about games.
0:03.7	I'm like, I think someone was named Sansa.
0:05.8	That's the only thing I remember.
0:06.5	But like, boom, it's all gone.
0:07.8	What fresh hell.
0:09.5	Laughing in the face of motherhood.
0:11.6	I, her cue, Poirot, noticed the bandage.
0:14.4	With Margaret Abels and Amy Wilson.
0:16.9	Here are nine different Reddit threads that prove it.
0:21.0	A podcast that solves today's parenting dilemmas so you don't have to.
0:25.5	Maybe a little more specifically applicable, but it's a great law.
0:31.1	Hello, everyone, and welcome to a fresh hell laughing in the face of motherhood.
0:34.9	This is Margaret.
0:35.6	And this is Amy, and today we are going to talk about
0:38.9	rules for making better decisions. Okay. As a parent and just in life, this is one of my, I love
0:45.4	looking up these psychology, like ways we think and why we think things. So forgive me for dorking out
0:53.1	and preparing this episode. I love doing this. I'm just along for the ride here. I mean, generally, I do like to take tests that are like, what kind of Muppet am I? Fossey Bear for the record. You know, what real housewife am I? I mean, I like tests and quizzes. These are like rules for the way things are and why the way things are. And some of them you're going to find out
1:11.4	not called rules. They're called razors, like Occam's Razor, which you may have heard of
1:16.9	and some of the ones you probably have not heard of. I'm an Occam's Razor fan. I like an Occam's
1:21.8	razor. So the reason they're called Razors is simply because they pair things away. These rules philosophers came up with over
1:31.5	some of them are ancient and some of them are 10 years ago. Somebody said this. But they're ways
1:36.9	to make better decisions by allowing you to pair certain things away, certain categories of
	...

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