Such an excellent life lesson! I expect often people continue to do certain things not because they're afraid of walking away from a large investment, but just because of inertia. I can think of one time I sat through a dreary second act, not because I was afraid to leave, but just because I couldn't think of anything else to do with the next 90 minutes of my time anyway. Such a lack of imagination.
In health care, the tyranny of "We've always done it this way," is crazy-making. New evidence comes out that says x, y or z practice doesn't work or even is harmful and people resist making the change. It's bizarre. For a supposedly science-based field, there's a lot of non-scientific thinking that leads people not to change their minds about established treatments. Nice column.
Such a powerful example of how the sunk cost fallacy can be dangerous. There are so many examples of this problem in medicine. Orthopedists still perform knee surgeries that studies have shown are no better than sham surgeries, for example. I’m sure you have seen your share of infuriating examples during your time in hospitals.
Regarding your last footnote, have you read this Fred Clark ("The Slacktivist") classic "Jackie at the Crossroads"? Your self-righteous woman is a Bad Jackie, I'm afraid. Confronted with facts, all she could do was to double down on falsehood. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2010/09/19/jackie-at-the-crossroads/
Part of the problem is that these kinds of rumors are so deliciously INTERESTING, much more so than ordinary life. And reveling in the more grotesque kinds of evil makes people feel good about themselves -- I may be bad, but at least I'm not as bad as THEY are.
Such an excellent life lesson! I expect often people continue to do certain things not because they're afraid of walking away from a large investment, but just because of inertia. I can think of one time I sat through a dreary second act, not because I was afraid to leave, but just because I couldn't think of anything else to do with the next 90 minutes of my time anyway. Such a lack of imagination.
This is a good point. I think inertia was probably a major force in the Swiss watchmaking case too.
In health care, the tyranny of "We've always done it this way," is crazy-making. New evidence comes out that says x, y or z practice doesn't work or even is harmful and people resist making the change. It's bizarre. For a supposedly science-based field, there's a lot of non-scientific thinking that leads people not to change their minds about established treatments. Nice column.
Such a powerful example of how the sunk cost fallacy can be dangerous. There are so many examples of this problem in medicine. Orthopedists still perform knee surgeries that studies have shown are no better than sham surgeries, for example. I’m sure you have seen your share of infuriating examples during your time in hospitals.
Regarding your last footnote, have you read this Fred Clark ("The Slacktivist") classic "Jackie at the Crossroads"? Your self-righteous woman is a Bad Jackie, I'm afraid. Confronted with facts, all she could do was to double down on falsehood. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2010/09/19/jackie-at-the-crossroads/
Part of the problem is that these kinds of rumors are so deliciously INTERESTING, much more so than ordinary life. And reveling in the more grotesque kinds of evil makes people feel good about themselves -- I may be bad, but at least I'm not as bad as THEY are.
Thanks for the link! That was a great article, and I especially love the point that a sense of humor helps us be the Good Jackie.