Heavyweight The Canal, the Crash and the Ketamine - Pushkin's Reign of Error
Oct 23, 2025
In this discussion, psychologist Maria Konnikova and author Sheila Heti delve into the fascinating world of mistakes and regret. Maria explores how regret influences our decisions, and the psychology behind why we often repeat mistakes. Sheila shares personal stories, like nearly losing a grant due to a careless mistake, and amusingly misinterpreting medical instructions that led to a ketamine mix-up. Together, they uncover how these missteps shape our narratives and challenge our notions of control.
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The Vanishing Canal
- Dredgers on the Chesterfield Canal pulled a stubborn chain and later found the canal drained into a plug hole installed two centuries earlier.
- The crew had no record of the plug because wartime fires destroyed the documentation.
Don't Let Regret Drive Decisions
- Avoid making decisions driven by fear of future regret; it often leads to irrational choices.
- Focus on process and expected value rather than outcomes to reduce hindsight-driven regret.
Endowment Effect Meets FOMO
- The endowment effect magnifies reluctance to give up possessions, compounding FOMO and regret.
- That combination pushes people toward irrational status-quo choices, especially in investing or poker.
