For an acquaintance that is generally interested in similar themes but unfamiliar with LW:
Thinking and deciding affect how likely we are to succeed at anything that we care about, but we’ve learned that people generally suck at this and fail in predictable ways. There’s lots of science on this, and I’m sure you’ve even noticed it yourself.
Example/anecdote (personal and tailored to their interests if possible)
There’s lots of info on these kinds of errors, but I find them really slippery to identify and correct in myself. LessWrong is a community designed to figure out how to do better, and design strategies to help people apply these lessons to daily life. I’ve found it really useful, you should check it out.
For an acquaintance that is generally interested in similar themes but unfamiliar with LW: