Logical fallacies

sunk cost

You already spent it. It’s gone either way.

  • “We’ve put eight months in, we can’t stop now.”

    “From today, is finishing worth what it’ll cost?”

    The eight months are spent whether you continue or not. They’re not an argument.

The only rational question is whether the remaining cost is worth the remaining benefit. What’s already spent appears on both sides of that comparison and therefore cancels.

Knowing this doesn’t stop it working. Loss aversion is wired in deep, which is why “we’re too far in” gets said in rooms full of people who all know better.

Now go count only what is left.