Survivorship bias
Survivorship bias is drawing conclusions only from the people or things that made it through some filter, while ignoring those that did not. The missing failures often hold the most important information.
In everyday life
In World War II, analysts studying bullet holes on returning planes realized armor should go where the holes were not, because planes hit in those spots never made it back.
You decide college is a waste of money because several famous billionaires dropped out, without thinking about the many dropouts who never became rich.
Why your mind does this
Our brains handle small, concrete quantities well but struggle with large numbers, fractions and odds. Rounding, grouping and labeling let us make fast decisions without doing the math. For most daily choices, a rough answer is good enough.
How to spot it
Ask who or what is missing from the group you are looking at, and why they dropped out of view.
How to counter it
Actively seek out the failures, closed businesses and people who quit before deciding what leads to success.