The diagram in the previous post had an empty quadrant. It bugged me that I could not think of a decision making process that lay in that quadrant.
Which decision making process considers lots of options, and votes on them (or discusses them) regularly?
It came to me next morning. And once it came, it stayed. It’s so obvious that there are books, and cartoon strips, and TV sitcom episodes based on it.
Here’s a basic principle of decision making:
If a decision is critical and not easily reversible, consider all options deeply.
If a decision is easily amendable, make a quick decision and revisit frequently.
General election voting uses the first principle. Parliaments vote using the second. The Brexit referendum was an illogical mix of the two, causing a biased outcome.
See first, think later, then test.
But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting.
— Wonko the sane, in ‘So long, and thanks for all the fish’
They wouldn’t think of preventing many statistically riskier parenting decisions so long as those decisions jive comfortably with social norms.
Source: Working Mom Arrested for Letting Her 9-Year-Old Play Alone at Park – The Atlantic
This problem is everywhere – social behaviour decisions, government policy implementations, day-to-day corporate decision-making. The reason, hinted at in the quote above, is two-fold:
Other potential reasons, I guess, are:
What can (should) be done to overcome these hurdles? (Other than defining regulation more rigidly to take decisions out of hands of people, and/or ‘educating’ people)