(featured image: stevepb/Pixabay)

Bad decisions

What is a bad decision? It is tempting to say, “one with a bad outcome”, but unless the outcome was certain right from the start, this is not the right criterion. Bad decision making is about flaws in the process, not in the result. Two particular flaws are widespread — or is it three?

It is fascinating to see small children play and learn — especially when they are constructing things, for example with plastic bricks from a well-known Danish company. When the object they made falls over, they might remove a block from one place and put it in the right position to fix the problem, only to find that removing it in the first place created took away a necessary support, so it is now falling over to the other side. Or they might set out to build the highest tower they can, and discover that, if they just place bricks one on top of the other, the taller they make it, the more likely it is that it will topple. Before long they realize that tall and stable requires a more complex construction method.

Decision making, child’s play? (image: the author)