Aren't You Just Creating a Recipe for Disdain?

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Longyngwie: What is the sort of person that i want to be? You come to the world with a set of ferences, a set of tastes. We have a utility function that talks about what we value. And that's what determines our choices and our behavior. A lot of people lead happy lives without self awareness or worrying about who they want to become,. Without worying about meaning or purpose or growth. Which was really another idea that that's part of this book.

Waze and Google Maps tell us the best way to get to where we're going. But no app or algorithm can tell us whether we should head there in the first place. To economist Russ Roberts, the reason is simple: Humans are dynamic and aspirational beings. When it comes to making life's big decisions, from what to study to whom to marry or whether to have a child, it's not always us doing the deciding, he argues, but rather the people we want to be. Join the host of EconTalk, the president of Shalem College, and the author of the new book Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions that Define Us, as he speaks with friend and EconTalk favorite Michael Munger about why the traditional economic models for decision making can lead us astray--and why life should be less about solving problems than embracing possibilities.