The core idea
Every decision you make is either fast (System 1 — automatic, associative, usually fine) or slow (System 2 — deliberate, effortful, used only when pushed). The trouble is that System 1 produces predictable biases — framing, anchoring, availability, representativeness — and System 2 is often too tired to catch them. The fix is not to think harder; it is to engineer the decision. — after Kahneman, Tversky & Bazerman
The hero diagram
Prospect theory.
Losses feel steeper than gains. The kink at the origin is the whole point.
Frameworks in this module
Named ideas to remember.
How to apply
Before the next big decision.
- Is this a System 1 or System 2 decision? If it will matter in a year, force yourself into System 2.
- Write down the frame. "Gain" frames and "loss" frames lead to different choices on identical facts.
- Check your two biggest biases. Anchoring (first number you heard) and availability (most recent memorable example).
- Ask: what would make me reverse this in 6 months? If you can answer, you are not escalating. If you cannot, you are.
Key reading · Thinking, Fast and Slow · Kahneman
Two systems, one mind.
Kahneman's synthesis of 40 years of research names the two modes — and names the biases each produces. It is still the best field manual on why smart people make predictably bad decisions under pressure.
Rationality is not the goal. Catching yourself being irrational is.