Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M5883

Pauling Effect

Pauling Effect
StructuremediumCritical Thinking
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Updated 2026-08-19

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Named after Linus Pauling, who won two Nobel Prizes and later promoted the unsupported claim that high doses of vitamin C could treat serious illnesses, including cancer. His prestige delayed correction and lent credibility to a position that evidence did not support. The core claim is that expertise in one field does not transfer to another, while authority does. The qualification is that the effect describes how reputation distorts reception, and it does not imply that Pauling's chemical work was flawed.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Use Domain Check: Verify whether the authority's expertise covers the field in which the claim is made. - Use Authority Discount: Judge the evidence on its own merits rather than by the speaker's reputation. - Use Correction Planning: Expect that reversing a famous person's claim will take longer than the evidence alone would suggest.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Reputation built in one domain is transferred by audiences to claims in unrelated domains, because judging expertise is costly and prestige is an easy proxy. When the claim is wrong, the same proxy makes it hard to correct, since critics appear to be attacking a celebrated figure rather than an unsupported position. The authority therefore suppresses the normal correction process.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    dx.mbahttps://dx.mba/blog/:pauling-effectZH · Explicit
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