Maria Konnikova
Writer and professional poker player, born in Moscow, with a PhD in psychology from Columbia University; author of Mastermind, The Confidence Game and The Biggest Bluff, and a contributing writer for The New Yorker.
Maria Konnikova did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
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Saying that training is everything in reaching elite performance is tempting but wrong; genes and environment both matter.
We cannot predict with accuracy who will become élite in a given field, but we know that genes and environment matter and that we all have different natural peaks that we can reach through application and training. Saying that training is everything may be tempting, but it’s wrong.
newyorker.comSaid 28 Sept 2016This on korrents
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Correlations found between openness and liberalism are largely tautological, because political leanings were built into the personality measures.
So what happens when we look for correlations between, say, openness and liberalism? We find one because it’s largely tautological.
newyorker.comSaid 23 Aug 2016This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 7 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Saying that training is everything in reaching elite performance is tempting but wrong; genes and environment both matter.
We cannot predict with accuracy who will become élite in a given field, but we know that genes and environment matter and that we all have different natural peaks that we can reach through application and training. Saying that training is everything may be tempting, but it’s wrong.
Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect Said 28 Sept 2016
Talent needs the right environment and opportunity to flourish; genes alone do not make a genius.
Opportunity must be there. Genes are great, but they need to have the right environment in which to flourish.
Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect Said 28 Sept 2016
Correlations found between openness and liberalism are largely tautological, because political leanings were built into the personality measures.
So what happens when we look for correlations between, say, openness and liberalism? We find one because it’s largely tautological.
Politics and Personality: Most of What You Read Is Malarkey Said 23 Aug 2016
Show 4 more
People readily accept counterintuitive findings from social psychology as long as they do not conflict with their notions of what ought to be.
Social psychology touches on our most cherished beliefs about how the world should operate. We are more than happy to accept the counterintuitive—as long as it doesn’t conflict with our central notions of what ought to be.
Politics and Personality: Most of What You Read Is Malarkey Said 23 Aug 2016
Being immersed in a story lowers our guard, which is what makes stories a powerful tool of deception.
That’s precisely why they can be such a powerful tool of deception. When we’re immersed in a story, we let down our guard.
How Stories Deceive Said 29 Dec 2015
Emotion is the key to empathy: stir people emotionally and they identify with you; keep them cold and empathy does not grow.
Emotion is the key to empathy. Arouse us emotionally and we will identify with you and your plight. Keep us cold, and empathy won’t blossom.
How Stories Deceive Said 29 Dec 2015
When people are swept up in a powerful narrative, their reason often falls by the wayside.
Azzopardi’s frauds relied on a quirk of human nature: when we become swept up in powerful narrative, our reason often falls by the wayside.
How Stories Deceive Said 29 Dec 2015
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Where they publish
Site mariakonnikova.com Author site
Her books, speaking and an occasionally updated blog.
Link verified 3 Oct 2026.
Newsletter mariakonnikova.substack.com The Leap, her Substack
A newsletter that comes out every week or so; the archive is for paying members.
Open mariakonnikova.substack.com
Link verified 3 Oct 2026.
x.com @mkonnikova @mkonnikova
Podcast pushkin.fm Risky Business, co-hosted with Nate Silver
A weekly Pushkin podcast about risk, decisions and probability.
Link verified 3 Oct 2026.
About the English under a post
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