“I was very interested in maximizing experience, but this doesn’t seem to be what people want to do,” he told Tyler Cowen in an interview in 2018. “Happiness feels good in the moment. But it’s in the moment. What you’re left with are your memories. And that’s a very striking thing—that memories stay with you, and the reality of life is gone in an instant.” – Daniel Kahneman

In my early sales training I was taught perception is reality. If the prospect thinks something is true, what you think is reality doesn't matter, if they believe it, it's true. I was trained to use this my advantage. "Greg, whatever you say is half true at best. If the prospect says it, however, it's truth." Manipulative way to see the world, I guess, but the more I tried it, the more I could see my trainers were right.
Fast-forward a few years/decades, and I ran into the book "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman. In it, he outlines his thoughts and experiments on how we humans think. Hundreds of pages on a very smart person thinking about thinking.
I loved it. Still do.
People are complex and mysterious. The poets might say we are "unknowable." This doesn't stop us from categorizing them, making assumptions, and celebrating their foibles.
Like how I feel about everyone associated with the other team. When my team plays your team, you are dumb. Your players are dumb. I hope we beat you in an embarrassing way.
Today I feel this way about the Tennessee men's basketball team.
Go Jays. Beat the Vols. Maximize my happiness for a minute.
RIP Mr. Kahneman.
|