My judo teacher told me a story I never forgot.
During World War II, engineers studied the planes that came back from battle.
They mapped the bullet holes and said:
“Reinforce the areas that got hit the most.”
Then someone looked closer and said:
“No. Reinforce the areas with no bullet holes.”
Why?
Because the planes that returned were the on es that survived those hits.
The planes that were hit elsewhere never made it back.
That is survivorship bias.
We judge reality by what we can see.
But sometimes the most important truth is hidden in what never returned.