Sharing what I have learned from what I have read: A blog by Joe Abittan
I think heuristics are underrated. We should discuss heuristics as a society way more than we do. We barely acknowledge heuristics, but if we look closely, they are at the heart of many of our decisions, beliefs, and assumptions. They save us a lot of work and help us move through the world pretty smoothly, … Continue reading Substitution Heuristics
"Anything that makes it easier for the associative machine to run smoothly will also bias beliefs," writes Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking Fast and Slow. Biases are an unavoidable part of our thinking. They can lead to terrible prejudices, habits, and meaningless preferences, but they can also help save us a lot of time, … Continue reading Thoughts on Biases
"We now know that the effects of priming can reach into every corner of our lives." Daniel Kahneman writes this in his book Thinking Fast and Slow while demonstrating the power of priming factors. An example he uses in the book to demonstrate the power of priming has to do with voting and school support. … Continue reading Autonomous Actors
Much of Daniel Kahneman's book Thinking Fast and Slow is about the breakdowns in our thinking processes, especially regarding the mental shortcuts we use to make decisions. The reality of the world is that there is too much information, too many stimuli, too many things that we could focus on and consider at any given … Continue reading Expert Intuition
Humans are gossip machines. We like to talk about and think about other people, especially the negative traits and qualities of others. At the same time, we are self-deception machines. We downplay our own faults, spend little time thinking about our mistakes, and deny any negative quality about ourselves. Even when we are the only … Continue reading Gossip Machines
Does travel help us be more happy? Seneca did not think it did. In Letters From a Stoic, he included a quote from Socrates, "Why do you wonder that glob-trotting does not help you, seeing that you always take yourself with you? The reason which set you wandering is ever at your heels." Seneca … Continue reading On Travel as a Cure for Discontent
A funny thing happened with people's thoughts about the economy following the 2016 presidential election in the United States. Supporters of Hillary Clinton prior to the election had strong feelings about the economy, while Republican supporters of Donald Trump thought the economy was terrible. In the days and weeks following the election, perceptions of the … Continue reading Our Opinion Shapes Our Experience
When writing about being in crowds, Seneca states, "I never bring back home the same character that I took abroad with me." He is writing about the ways that crowds change us. They change our behavior, they can stir-up emotions we work to keep at bay, and they can drive us to think in new … Continue reading Crowds Change Who We Are
Recently I have been thinking a lot about the way we think. To each of us, it feels as though our thinking and our thought process is logical, that our assumptions about the world are sound and built on good evidence, and that we might have a few complex technical facts wrong, but our judgments … Continue reading Motivated Reasoning – Arguments to Continue Believing As We Already Do
We spend a lot of time criticizing other people and trying to change those around us, and that energy might be misplaced. Instead of spending so much time thinking about others, worrying about their decisions and choices, and trying to get them to act differently, we should look inward, and consider if we are living … Continue reading Trying to Improve Others?