People are prone to errors from "summary" of Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan
Humans are prone to making mistakes, but why? We often make errors even though we do our best to avoid them. Examining our missteps can help us to better understand our own flaws and weaknesses.- Sometimes people make mistakes inadvertantly because our thoughts and actions can be misguided. This is why taking a step back and doing some self-reflection can help us avoid making errors in the future.
- Human beings often take mental shortcuts, which leads to distortion of memories or judgment failures, even when we’re trying our best not to make mistakes.
- Limited knowledge and experience cause us to fail to recognize potential outcomes, thereby paving the way for erroneous predictions.
- Biases such as confirmation bias can trap people, limiting the data they see and reinforcing mistaken beliefs.
- It’s natural for humans to seek out patterns even when there are none, leading to spurious correlations and overconfidence in one’s decision making.
- People are easily distracted and might have difficulty focusing, all of which affects their ability to evaluate complex situations accurately.
- Many stressors on a daily basis can affect us cognitively and lead us to overlook important information or jump to incorrect conclusions.
- Our brains are wired to gravitate towards easier decisions, even if it means believing something untrue or pursuing an irrational path.
- We are prone to difficulties to say no and resist social pressure, meaning that we often end up going against our better judgement or act rashly instead.
- Environmental factors about us – like time pressures, fatigue and temperature – play a role in how well we concentrate and interpret the world around us.
