Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M0645

Micromort

Micromort
DecideHigh supportDecision Science
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A unit of risk representing a one-in-a-million chance of death. For example, smoking 1.4 cigarettes, skydiving once (10 micromorts), or driving 370 kilometers each corresponds to approximately 1 micromort.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Rationally quantify risk. Human intuition is highly insensitive to tiny probabilities (fear of flying but not driving). Using micromorts helps compare risks of different activities on the same scale, enabling more rational safety decisions.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

A micromort is a unit of risk representing a one-in-a-million chance of death (e.g., smoking 1.4 cigarettes, skydiving once, or driving 370 kilometers each corresponds to about 1 micromort). It uses a unified scale to rationally quantify tiny risks, correcting intuitive misjudgments.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MicromortZH · Explicit
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