Think101: Conversations

How do you decide what you like or don't like? Given what you now know about the fallibility of your decision making systems, are you really an authority on your personal preferences? It turns out that in order to make better judgements and decisions, you need to be more systematic. Maybe find out whether, say, facebook improves your life with an experiment: random assignment, daily ratings, and statistical analyses. Surprisingly, most things in life from law, education, and even medicine, are based on longstanding use rather than evidence. Reading: Mindware by Richard Nisbett, “Linked Up” and “Ignore the HiPPO”; Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Informal covariation assessment: Data-based vs. theory-based judgments. Guests: Jason Tangen, Rachel Searston, Ruben Laukkonen, Jeremy Nash, and Joshua Adie. Learn more at think101.org.