Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M3830

Nullius in verba

Nullius in verba
StructureHigh supportCritical Thinking
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28

CORE DEFINITION

Nullius in verba (Latin for "no one's words" or "take nobody's word for it") is the motto of the Royal Society. John Evelyn and other fellows of the Royal Society chose the motto soon after the Society's founding in 1660.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Nullius in verba (Latin for "no one's words" or "take nobody's word for it") is the motto of the Royal Society. John Evelyn and other fellows of the Royal Society chose the motto soon after the Society's founding in 1660.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

"Nullius in verba" ("take nobody's word for it") is the motto of the Royal Society, advocating that knowledge should be built on experiment and evidence, not on the authority of words. Its mechanism is "de-authorization": any assertion (regardless of who makes it) is only a hypothesis until tested by evidence, thereby shifting the criterion from "who said it" to "what the evidence supports."

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Source support: Explicit

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