Why We Make Mistakes: Post #12--Winging It

We’d Rather Wing It: Contrary to what many experts might have you believe, they’re not nearly as good as they claim. Anders Ericsson, a psychologist at Florida State, has experimentally determined that to become an expert people must practice their skill for 10,000 hours. In many cases, that means 10 years of regular practice. For evidence, look at great musicians, professional athletes, doctors, dentists, teachers, and successful CEO’s.

Why We Make Mistakes: Post #11--Above Average?

We All Think We’re Above Average: To quote Garrison Keillor, “Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” We tend to overestimate our own value and are almost always wrong. According to one psychologist/researcher Stephano DellaVigna at Berkeley, “Almost everyone is overconfident—except the people who are depressed, and they tend to be realists.” And in situations where confidence is overly high, there tend to be poor feedback systems. Such blatant overconfidence leads to all sorts of errors, not the least of which is thinking we’re matched to any problem that comes our way.

Why We Make Mistakes: Post #10--Men Shoot First

Men Shoot First: Men trade stocks a LOT more than women (45% more if men are married and 67% more if they’re single, as compared to single women). AND the more you trade, typically the less you make! Men also tend to overestimate how smart and handsome they are…. Men are more prone to take risks than women, and men are involved in three times as many fatal accidents. And the research points out something we all know: Men are less likely to ask for directions (mainly because they don’t think they’re really lost).