Nobel prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman discusses decision-making. Michael Ignatieff explores moral choices in politics. Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh talks about the complexity of brain surgeries. Emotion clouding judgement is explored by writer Lisa Appignanesi through crimes of passion.
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Quick takeaways
Understanding biases can help individuals make more informed decisions in various aspects of life.
Effective risk communication, transparency, and discussing decisions before actions can aid in better surgical outcomes.
Deep dives
Human Decision Making and Rationality
Humans are not always rational decision makers, a concept explored by psychologist Daniel Kahneman. Economics traditionally assumed people act rationally, but real humans are more complex. Kahneman's book 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' delves into system one and system two thinking, where quick automatic responses can clash with effortful, rational choices. People lean towards system one for quick decisions, avoiding the effortful system two.
Biases and Heuristics in Decision Making
Kahneman highlights biases like anchoring effects where initial values influence decisions, even for judges setting sentences. Heuristics, mental shortcuts, impact thought processes, leading to errors. People struggle to assess risk accurately, affected by these biases when making choices. Understanding biases can help individuals make more informed decisions.
The Influence of Decision Making in Surgery
Brain surgeon Henry Marsh emphasizes the challenges of decision making in surgery, acknowledging uncertainty in critical moments. Discussing decisions before actions can prevent errors in complex surgeries. Patients rely on effective risk communication from surgeons to make informed choices. Nonverbal communication and transparency play vital roles in presenting risks accurately.
Responsibility, Law, and Passion Crimes
Author Lisa Appignanesi explores crimes of passion and shifts in legal attitudes towards responsibility. Historical cases like Christiana Edmonds' poisoning in Brighton reveal gender biases and societal expectations impacting legal outcomes. The law's perception of rationality influences judgments, questioning free will and rational decision making in emotional contexts. The interplay between passion and reason in legal settings raises questions about culpability and human behavior.
Tom Sutcliffe discusses how we make decisions with the Nobel prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman. Moral choices in politics can be a complicated business, according to the academic and former politician Michael Ignatieff, who explores whether the age of international intervention is over. Doctors work under the oath 'do no harm', but the neurosurgeon Henry Marsh says the decision whether to operate on a brain is rarely that simple. High emotion can cloud your judgement and the writer Lisa Appignanesi looks back at sensational crimes of passion to ask how far the perpetrators were responsible for their actions.
Producer: Katy Hickman.
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