How can I avoid making the common errors of human judgment?
November 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Answer: Listen to Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet’s partner in Berkshire Hathaway, deliver this highly practical, well-illustrated lecture on the psychology of human misjudgment:
In 1995, Charlie Munger addressed students at the Harvard Law School on the issue of psychology of human misjudgement. The lecture is a real treasure!
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HUMAN MISJUDGMENT
(When the page opens, click on the audio link.)
To access the transcript of the lecture, click here.
And click here to read an essay Charlie Munger wrote around the same time entitled Turning $2 Million Into $2 Trillion where he explains how Coca-Cola has put known psychological principles to good use to create a business success phenomenon (and how Coca Cola would have been even more successful if they had avoided some of the common errors of misjudgment).
What are the common cognitive biases and logic fallacies I probably suffer from without realizing?
November 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Answer: There are heaps of these — maybe a hundred or so? Watch these videos to learn about some of them.
A fun song introduction to the common cognitive biases:
This video uses someone’s short speech to illustrate several common biases:
This video explains how we are biased towards seeing patterns and order where none exists:
This video explains how we are biased towards living in the pleasurable present rather than working towards a sensible future:
Videos showing the amazing power of priming
September 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment
1. Five-minute excerpt from the BBC Horizons documentary “How to make better decisions”. (Watch from 2 minutes in)
The opening few sentences:
“In 1996 Professor John Bargh shocked and outraged his fellow psychologists by publishing studies that controversially showed that our decisions can be subliminally manipulated. . .
“I’ve ceased being surprised at the results of these studies only because of all the long experience that those things keep working.” (John Bargh)
The subliminal effect that has rattled so many cages is called priming.
2. Priming, Money and their Effect On Us (6-minute video)
3. Unconscious behavioral guidance systems
In this Aug 2011 video, priming discoverer, Professor John Bargh, sums up several decades of priming research. The video goes for one hour and 20 minutes and can get a bit “academic”, but it’s truly amazing stuff, right down to explaining why we might want to take a long, hot shower when we’re feeling lonely and unloved and why drinking coffee is such a rapport-building thing to do.
