Decisiveness Is a Learned Trait
Im someone who agonizes and agonizes and agonizes over the simplest of decisions until I’ve expended an inordinate amount of mental energy on something that usually doesn’t matter that much. So, when I’m tasked with making choices that are actually of consequence? Forget about it. But, as it turns out, it’s entirely impossible to learn…
DetailsAvoiding Bad Decisions
1. We’re unintentionally stupid We like to think that we can rationally process information like a computer, but we can’t. Cognitive biases explain why we made a bad decision but rarely help us avoid them in the first place. It’s better to focus on these warning signs that signal something is about to go wrong. Warning signs…
DetailsThe Usefulness of Our Delusions
The story of Donald Lowry and the “Church of Love” is weird and captivating: a balding, middle-aged writer in a small Midwestern town had assumed the personas of dozens of fictitious women. He had written love letters in their voices to tens of thousands of men. Each woman had her own unique writing style, vocabulary…
DetailsStarting Dates Are Everything.
When reviewing the investment performance of any vehicle the picture you paint will depend upon the starting and finishing dates you select. This is an old trick of everyone from fund managers to financial planners to make something look really good. It is also sometimes used by journalists to make a rather tenuous point. This…
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