Why We Make Mistakes: Post #13--Constraints

We Don’t Constrain Ourselves: Simple color coding, checklists, and the like could save us from making frequent and sometimes dangerous, life-threatening mistakes. Pilots adhere to strict checklist regimens for that exact reason. Turns out that keeping it simple (stripping away complexity) is the way to go to reduce errors. One example of a constraint was how bartenders remember complicated bar orders—they line up the glasses as people order…as a memory jogger. No way a pilsner beer glass would contain a whiskey sour. About 20% of the time in autopsies, it was revealed that doctors had misdiagnosed the fatal illness. When questioned about whether doctors wanted their judgment que