Often when discussing what is considered a rarer occurring event, individuals reference the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon as insurance against fallacious thinking. Also known as the frequency bias, this logical heuristic states that rare occurring events are rare and the knowledge of the existence of rare occurrences makes the interlocutor more likely to search out the event or see it occur more frequently. These false increases in observation frequency can logically be blamed, at least in part, on the interlocutor being made aware of the event existence. This Baader-Meinhof logical heuristic is often mis-utilized in the sciences to minimize the chances of rarer phenomena from being considered within a logical framework for the work up of a problem. This article presents a new logical heuristic, the “Mongoose Phenomenon” as a counter argument and presents it in the context of the fields of medicine, the hard sciences, engineering, and philosophy. It is the intention of the authors that this logical heuristic be utilized to improve the thought process of scientists, clinicians, and others to ensure the best thought process for the work up and creation of a solution for problems.

Neck pain has become a commonly encountered complaint in the emergency department and primary care office. A large proportion of the population, ranging from a fifth (⅕) to a third (⅓) of the total, will experience non-specific neck pain in their lifetime. Because of the difficulty to quickly parse out the differential and the severity of several of these diagnoses, it is imperative for physicians in the emergency department to establish a systematic and effective approach for evaluating nonspecific neck pain. This article will present a standardized case of a patient presenting with nonspecific neck pain, critically analyze current evidence and guidelines from major ruling bodies in internal medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, and radiology, examine major statements released by the Choosing Wisely Campaign, and propose a new diagnostic decision tree for the management of nonspecific neck pain.