How to make better decisions

Topics: Risk, Decision making, Cognition Pages: 3 (1215 words) Published: June 20, 2014
The film “How to Make Better Decisions” was quite interesting. The beginning of the film highlighted how based on science, it shows that the decisions we make are bad. We assume that we have a strong awareness of our choices and the reason why we do certain things. I agree with that because every time I make a decision, I always think that I know what the outcome would be, but really I am only making a decision based on my emotions and I am only assuming to think the outcome will be great. When I was in high school, there was a pair of sneakers that I really wanted. These sneakers were about $100 and my mother thought I was crazy for wanting them. At that time in my life, I convinced myself that I should buy these sneakers because they were cute and I really wanted them. Looking back now, that was a very bad decision. I could have saved that money and used it for something else. The only reason why I wanted those shoes was simply because everyone in school wanted them, but only certain students could afford them. It was like I had to prove something by buying those shoes, and I did not make a logical decision when purchasing them, I acted out on emotions. At that time in my life, my “grip on reality” was not as tight as I thought.

I found it quite hilarious in the documentary, when Mathematician Garth Sundem spoke to the four men about how compatible they may be when finding a potential partner at the party. The four men Levi, John, Cal, and Chris were very brilliant, but they were all single because they do not know how to approach women. Sundem believed that he can help the four men find suitable girlfriends by using algebra equations. It was called the “Do I Stand a Chance with Her” equation.

Cal was told that he would have a 95% chance with the girl he liked because he was a “witty conversationalist” and he was much more attractive than the girl he liked. Well after talking to the girl for not too long, it seemed as though she was not the least bit...
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