Thinking Beyond Science

From a rational perspective, we should make only decisions that are in our best interest (“should” is the operative word here). We should be able to discern among all the options facing us and accurately compute their value–not just in the short term but also in the long term-and choose the option that maximizes our best interests.

Essentially, the mechanisms we developed during our early evolutionary years might have made perfect sense in our distant past. But given the mismatch between the speed of technological development and human evolution, the same instincts and abilities that once helped us now often stand in our way. Bad decision-making behaviors that manifested themselves as mere nuisances in earlier centuries can now severely affect our lives in crucial ways.

When corporate HR departments design compensation plans, they usually have two goals: to attract the right people for the job and to motivate them to do the best they can. There is no question that these two objectives are important and that salaries (in addition to benefits, pride, and meaning -topics that we will cover in the next few chapters) can play an important role in fulfilling these goals. The problem is with the types of compensation people receive. Some, such as very high bonuses, can create stress because they cause people to overfocus on the compensation, while reducing their performance.

Why are blogs so popular?

Not only is it because so many people have the desire to write; after all, people wrote before blogs were invented. It is also because blogs have two features that distinguish them from other forms of writing. First, they provide the hope or the illusion that someone else will read one’s writing. After all, the moment a blogger presses the “publish” button, the blog can be consumed by anybody in the world, and with so many people connected, somebody, or at least a few people, should stumble upon the blog. Indeed, the “number of views” statistic is a highly motivating feature in the blogosphere because it lets the blogger know exactly how many people have at least seen the posting. Blogs also provide readers with the ability to leave their reactions and comments–gratifying for both the blogger, who now has a verifiable audience, and the reader-cum-writer. Most blogs have very low readership–perhaps only the blogger’s mother or best friend reads them- but even writing for one person, compared to writing for nobody, seems to be enough to compel millions of people to blog.

Since work is a central part of our lives, it’s only natural for people to want to find meaning-even the simplest and smallest kind-in it.

Source – The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home by Dan Ariely

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7815744-the-upside-of-irrationality