How do you notice when you're rationalizing? Like, what *actually* tips you off, in real life?
I've listed my cues below; please add your own (one idea per comment), and upvote the comments that you either: (a) use; or (b) will now try using.
I'll be using this list in a trial rationality seminar on Wednesday; it also sounds useful in general.
Cure of not rationalizing: I feel confident that I'm not rationalizing. If I feel uncertain about whether or not I'm rationalizing then it can go either way and it's a sign I should be on guard, but if I don't feel any note of self-deception then that's normally pretty strong evidence that I'm not rationalizing. I'm not sure if this would be true for others; I've definitely seen people who claimed they felt that they were not rationalizing blatantly rationalizing.