“If you want to understand irrationality it helps to understand the quirks in your own mental wiring and then you can take appropriate precautions”
-Charlie Munger
We are not designed to see the world as it is. We are only privy to bits and pieces. And these fragments are filtered through our species specific glasses. For instance the way a bat takes in sensory information is far different than how my dog does. To a bat, the world is a series of sound waves clanging around at different frequencies. To my dog it is a playground of smells. This perceptual tool kit is meant to play to our strengths to keep us alive. It is not optimized for us to align with actuality.
And what protects us to keep us alive can often interfere with our ability to be right. Evolution has incentivized us to think in certain ways. This is our species specific filter. And as humans, each individual carries some variation of this. The unique way in which they see the world.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know the tendencies of your own?
To know whether you are more likely to lean towards optimism or pessimism.
To know whether you are attracted to what is shiny and new or cling too tight to old reliable.
Our life and work is constructed of millions and millions of decisions. It would be useful to know what’s driving these. Yes we will still be wrong, but at least we can know in which direction. To control for this can make all the difference.
-Anthony
Dr. Anthony Iannarino 