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What Colors Your Decisions?

Discussion in 'Tilted Philosophy, Politics, and Economics' started by rogue49, Jul 25, 2012.

  1. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    This has always fascinated me and greatly frustrated me.

    EVERYONE has things that affect their decisions.

    Doesn't matter how smart or experienced or fair-minded you are.

    I've seen the most smart & accomplished people make a bone-head call or refuse to consider something due to this.

    So what colors your decision-making??
    What are you truly observing?

    What is truth, what is REAL...and what is perception...and what do you think yourself or others are colored/affected by??
    • Bias
    • Definitions
    • How you were taught
    • Limited experience
    • Profiling
    • Lack of ability
    • Lack of awareness
    • Anger or emotion
    • Past experiences
    • Family or friends or associates
    • Peer pressure
    • Skewed information to satisfy a goal
    • Desires
    • and so on...
    Myself, I really do try to be real. Not brutally honest, I can be discrete or political.
    But in my own observations or decision-making I try to be REAL and realistic.
    Ignorance is NOT bliss.

    My problem is that I'm not psychic (or at least not in that way, heh) so I'm not aware of things that I haven't heard or observed or learned.
    And I can get overwhelmed, disorienting me...and that makes me miss something.
    And if something is told to me wrong...then how can I know to accomplish it correctly?

    I hate being wrong, I hate making mistakes...but at the same time I can acknowledge them and let go too.
    However, I do know that making the wrong call, cost time, money, effort, effectiveness, quality, fairness and more...
    And the two things I hate more...hurting myself or another...and doing the damn thing over for no reason.
    I work VERY hard to be lazy ;)

    And nothing frustrates me more than having something doing something incorrect or inefficiently just because they aren't being real,
    seeing what's obvious ...doing something wrong just because it gives them the "warm & fuzzies"

    So what colors your decisions?
    Or what have you observed in others.
    Even more what frustrates you about this?

    Of course, I could be wrong...
     
  2. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Impulse on one hand, insecurity on the other.

    What's frustrating about this is that these are terrible "colours" for decision-making.
     
  3. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    I've finally got enough breathing room to pop this up again.

    It an interesting perspective.

    I've encountered recently another that rears it's ugly head periodically.

    Presumption...you THINK you know better. or you THINK you know the "truth"...so you make opinions based on that, you act on that.
    Ex. An executive has heard rumour about a certain staffmember...rather than checking themself, they don't give this guy a chance.
    Ex. 2 A family member gets angry at you and takes steps to "correct" a "problem" without verifying the real situation.

    And another,
    Overwhelmed by information
    You cannot absorb all the material or situation thrown at you...you don't get it, it annoys you, you don't have the patience...
    so you just ACT despite not knowing everything or taking the time to figure it out.

    This relates to another
    Overwhelmed by situation
    Everything is being thrown at you...you're tired, you've got multiple things occupying you, etc...and so on.
    You make a CALL, just to get it over with... This is where a lot of mistakes get made. "Is it done yet"

    The human condition.
    Even the Best of the Best of us are vulnerable to these all noted and more...

    It's fascinating.
    How do you know you're making the best decision?
    Are you aware of your bias?
    Do you even care?

    What do you do to prevent it?
    To make SURE you are making best decision and action possible?
    To be real about it.
     
  4. Hektore

    Hektore Slightly Tilted

    I find my decisions can be readily influenced by the temperature of the cup in my hand. Basically, it all gets in. I sincerely doubt there is any part of my environment that doesn't influence my decisions, whether I am aware of them or not. Though I can tell you almost certainly that introspection is not going to get me to recognize all or even a majority of the influences being poured into my brain at any given moment. Not that my point was to shit on your thread or anything, just something to keep in mind.
     
  5. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Damn, I love FMRI.

    One thing I have been using in my decision making of late is this: Make Stronger Decisions by Giving Value to Your Time This doesn't work for all decisions, but it does work for many of them. This subject came up in my own family as my husband and I have been doing a lot of preserving lately, and preserving is one of those activities where if you don't get some kind of joy out of it or prefer to make use of your own food, the time investment may not be worthwhile. While on paper it might look like I'm losing money when I calculate in my own time, I'm really not because the produce I'm using cost me approximately $10 in seeds and starts, and it's all organic. If I compare that to what I buy in the store, I'll take what I grow--especially when it comes to my strawberry freezer jam. ;)

    I know my emotions color my decision-making, but I try to avoid that as much as possible, unless it is a decision where emotion should play a role. Not everything in life is devoid of heart, y'know.
     
  6. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    Just 30 students?? It will take a lot more than that to shit on my thread. ;)

    But in all seriousness...sure, much you're not aware of...and it CAN be physical/genetic traits that may affect your thinking...we are animals.
    But of those outside of your own body direct impact, which you cannot control...or at least you have great difficulty avoiding it.
    What ARE you aware of?
    What do you see in others?
    Do you even try to eliminate these as biases to your decisions?
    Do you think you'd get better results?

    Personally, I prefer to try to look at a perspective with no bias...I do find I get better result...even more so, my long-term overall awareness.
    I find that I'm happier if I KNOW. I hate not knowing something, because everything counts.

    But what I hate even more...is how other's biases and "corrupt" decision making affects me...
    making things more difficult
    making things take longer
    making calls that are unsafe
    making calls that impact me

    I cringe when I recall hearing authority figures or influential SME's say,
    "Oh, that's not to be concerned with right now...I don't see the benefit"
    "We don't have the resources...that's not a priority"
    and so on...

    An incredible man I once heard speak (the one WarGames was based on) said it's not the idea...it's SELLING the idea. (or perspective)
    If people can't absorb or are biased against your idea...then you haven't sold it...and the idea lingers or is gone.

    I run into that brick wall or fog bank everyday...
     
  7. cynthetiq

    cynthetiq Administrator Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    New York City
    I try to make decisions as soon as I wake up. I'm the "sleep on it" kind of guy. I'll take in all the information as much as I can with a deadline to make a decision. If I don't make a deadline it will continue to be analysed over and over and over and over until analysis paralysis.

    It's one of the reasons why I start off with a simple gut ranking of outcomes and consequences. I pick out the desired outcome and see if I can live with those consequences. This is especially important if I'm deciding on something that I don't necessarily like or want, meaning I have little or don't have any stake or interest. Usually my gut first call is the right one, but I always sleep on it. Always.

    Usually I can remove the hype and craziness surrounding something by just delaying a little bit. This gets rid of the MUST DECIDE NOW! syndrome that everyone seems to fall prey to. If it is something that is a once in a lifetime I may take it, but usually it isn't once in a lifetime.

    I make mental pros and cons in my head and sometimes I"ll even put it to paper if it is utterly complex.

    Sometimes when I am really pressed for something, I'll get rocky road, which is my go to answer. This means among all the choices in front of my I may just take the tried and true, safest, least amount of risk decision just so that I can take it off my plate and try to make more intricate decisions that are pending. I have a finite capacity for how many decisions I can make in a day. They are emotionally tied, so when I'm emotionally spent, I don't have any more room to make decisions. This means that the finite is unknown.
     
  8. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    Different factors color different decisions. Many of my actions and choices are influenced by my rural upbringing. Buying stocks or making investments are colored by different factors than buying clothes or choosing a place to live. I spent several years living in Boston and convinced myself that I loved it, while ignoring the downsides. While I loved what Boston had to offer, I'm happier now in a small city - if you can call 300,000 people small.
    Profiling is a buzzword. I will defend statistically valid profiling. I profile all the time in making investments.

    I am influenced (or biased) by probably dozens of things. I just sift through the best that I can, while trying not to spend an inordinate amount of time and effort in relation to the potential return.

    I HATE being "sold" something. Sure, I'll "buy" into an idea, or buy a product, but I hate being sold.

    Lindy
     
  9. itwasme

    itwasme But you'll never prove it.

    Location:
    In the wind
    Some things I see affecting decisions of others:
    What they think they can get away with
    Economy
    Personal finances
    Motivation or lack of (laziness)
    Habit
    Feelings of entitlement

    I've been trying lately to be less of a pushover, and just a bit selfish. Especially in regards to certain people. Some things that I am making a serious effort to include in my decisions:

    Is this really my problem, or yours?
    Did you originally have the time and resources to do *whatever* yourself, without saddling me with it?
    Is this going to be (or is this already) a habit?
    Do I feel like doing this for you?

    What I am trying hard to NOT take into consideration:
    Are you going to be upset if I say no?
    Am I "your last hope"?
     
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