Sidetracked

NOTES

Introduction

1. These realizations make us question our fundamental ability to make effective decisions that are consistent with our initial plans. In fact, for decades now, behavioral decision researchers have been studying the systematic mistakes we make under certain circumstances. In 1978, Herbert Simon won a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for arguing that our mental faculties are limited rather than infinite. Simon argued that, as human beings, we are “boundedly rational,” since our ability to perceive, remember, and process information is restricted. In 2002, Daniel Kahneman won the same Nobel Prize for his work in collaboration with Amos Tversky, which suggested that people reason in ways that produce systematic errors over time. ...