As I read Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow, I could not help but relate the discussion in the book to my own life. Chapters 25-30 explain the following topics: the optimistic bias, omitting subjectivity, theory-induced blindness, loss aversion, and the endowment effect. While I enjoyed parts from all of the chapters, one in particular stood out.
In the discussion of theory-induced blindness, Kahneman states, “Once you have accepted a theory and used it as a tool in your thinking, it is extraordinarily difficult to notice its flaws. If you come upon an observation that does not seem to fit the model, you assume that there must be a perfectly good explanation that you are somehow missing.” There have been many times in my studies in which I had a hard time completing homework because I wanted to use an equation that had worked before for a similar problem, but in reality, due to the empirical nature of Petroleum Engineering, a small change meant that I needed to use a different equation. Before I realized this, I tried to ‘correct’ the data by checking the units or comparing to other examples to see if there was a typo.
I spent way too many hours trying to use the wrong equation because of theory-induced blindness. It worked once, and my poor assumption that it would therefore fit every problem that asked for a similar solution. While I suspect that this will probably occur many times again, knowing that it happens will help me adjust for it in the future and question more of the practices that I use, because while they may work for past situations, changes or differences may cause flaws in the prior correct practices.
It makes sense that people would try to fit a tried-and-true theory into a situation where it does not fit. Our experiences tell us that it should work! For the most part, reusing previously successful theories is efficient and does result in similar successful results. However, in a world that is constantly changing, attacking a moving target with the same staging will work sparsely. At Penn State, I see students frustrated because their usual study techniques are not effective in a certain class. Instead of trying to modify their study techniques, they blame the class or the professor.
Kahneman reminds us once again that our minds are constantly trying to push us towards a quick, effective solution to problems that present themselves. While this may help with small day-to-day tasks, relying on this quick, seemingly effortless response can be dangerous too. There are several flaws that we can fall victim to if we are not constantly evaluating ourselves and our decisions.
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