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Here's why people make bad decisions


Grandpa Greenman

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The gap between expert analysis and public opinion seems to be widening by the day. In the US, there is significant popular support for the policies of Donald Trump which the vast majority of experts regards as questionable, to say the least.

In the UK there has been a broad consensus of economics experts warning that a vote to leave Europe will be disastrous, but many members of the public still voted to leave.

The global scientific community continues to warn about the catastrophic dangers of climate change, yet many members of the public see human-created climate change as a hoax.

These are just three examples of an increasingly wide-spread phenomenon: well-informed experts put forward a view on a topic based on the best evidence available and public opinion jumps the other way. Why does this happen?

http://www.sciencealert.com/why-do-you-make-stupid-decisions-when-the-experts-tell-you-otherwise

 

Very interesting read.  I think one of the major problems is people are often bombarded with so much information and misinformation it is hard for them to discern what is true and untrue. Just because you have education doesn't mean you understand how to read science papers and statistics.  Just because, someone is an expert in their field doesn't mean they are good educators and can overwhelm the average person with data. Plus, the media has become unethical in support of their sponsors,  who are seen and sometimes unseen in the background.   

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Besides there is another aspect, like it or not humans are a herd animals which in its extreme can be like lemmings. The motto: "If my neighbor jumps into a well I will follow" is observed every day.

 

Edited by questionmark
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Ah so any decision that differs from a proclaimed "expert" is automatically a bad decision lol

What a very elitist article. Don't make choices for your selves filthy commoners you're all too dumb apprently. 

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2 minutes ago, Lilly said:

Just to play the Devil's Advocate here; the experts aren't always right either.

The problem with that is: most cannot make an educated guess whether an expert is right or not. So in case of doubt we continue with out preconceived opinion. In fact, most could not even make an educated guess on whether an "expert" actually is one.

 

 

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'Herd instinct' is usually right.

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There are a lot of "experts" who cook the books for the clients, too.  That why when something is being researched, the outcome must be repeated in several studies by different people.  

Herd instinct....  

 20150420_051353_1_1.jpg

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^ ^ if you are implying by that photo that herd instinct is not a good thing, remember that it works very well for the wildebeest(?). If they all stick together in a huge fast-moving mass it makes it difficult for a predator to select a single victim to focus on, plus, they may get injured in the melee, plus, okay, so they may lose one or two individuals but 99.9% of the herd survives the obstacle and moves on to fresh pastures ...... mission accomplished!  

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4 minutes ago, GreenmansGod said:

There are a lot of "experts" who cook the books for the clients, too.  That why when something is being researched, the outcome must be repeated in several studies by different people.  

Herd instinct....  

 20150420_051353_1_1.jpg

Well, yes, mostly for politicians and corporations. The Spaniards have a good word combination for that: "Visto bueno" and "Visto malo", the first, literally translated as "well viewed" means approved, the second could be translated as "badly viewed".

I think the problem here is mostly the "Keep calm and carry on" mentality, which in reality should be "Keep calm and inform yourself".

 

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Probably some of the conclusions of the article will be expressed here.

Humans tend to avoid

what psychologists call cognitive dissonances at all costs. When the facts don’t fit our beliefs we tend to prefer to change the facts, not our beliefs.

From the link.

I've seen this so many times in my life, so many times.

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