How to make better decisions

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 hose 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 Sunder 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. Sunder 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 interested in him. John was told that he had a 41% chance of finding someone compatible, but he seemed to be doing fine when talking to one of the women at the gathering. Chris was told that he would have a 43% chance, so he cited Just to be himself and be honest with the woman he was talking to and it seemed to work out well for him.

The fourth guy from the group Levi did not want to follow the math equation, and he ended up not meeting or talking to anyone that night. I really found the math equation to be ridiculous. I still can’t see how a math problem can determine if someone will like you or not. That is based on the individual. Like the saying goes “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. It was a bit shocking to see that Garth Sunder actually wrote a book that has an equation of every tricky situation that life has to offer.

He believes that to come to a truly logical factor, the decisions must interact with Algebra. I searched for the book on Amazon and It Is called “Geek Logic: 50 Foolproof Equations For Everyday Life”. With a price of $2. 45 plus a $3. 99 shipping fee, I’m strongly considering purchasing this book. I’m not purchasing the book to help me with creating equations to assist me on decision making, but I’m interested to see how the equations are set up. I’m sure out of curiosity I am going to try and use one of those equations just to see if it sakes me make decisions rationally. He marketplace. He gave many of the people options to either keep the twenty pounds or gamble for the other thirty pounds in hopes of walking away with fifty pounds, or to Just keep a portion of the money without gambling for the extra thirty pounds. The risk takers were the one who decided to gamble, while the ones who are not risk takers simple opted out of gambling and decided to walk away with the money they already had. I am a risk taker and if I was in that situation, I would definitely gamble for the extra thirty pounds.

I would first convince myself that I’m not really losing anything even if I don’t win the extra thirty pounds. If I had not come into the market place then I would not have even had the opportunity to try and gamble for the money. Even if I did not win the fifty pounds, I’m still leaving with the same amount of money that I came in with. I felt sympathetic towards the woman in the video who had the brain damage that affected her frontal lope. Tasks such as remembering to take her medicine or simply going to the grocery store can be very difficult for her.

With our frontal lopes being the largest part of our brain and also playing a role in how we reason and make decisions, I can see how it may be difficult to have that part of the brain destroyed. The test with the warm and hot cup that was done by the Yale University students was quite fascinating. The students who held the warm cup had a much more positive response when asked if they would hire the young man as Project Manager whereas the students who held the cold cup all stated that they would not hire him. I see this same behavior with myself everyday!

One the days that I am able to grab myself a nice cup of hot coffee in the morning, I tend to be in a very good mood at work. The warm feeling that the coffee gives me, puts me in a very good mood and for some strange reason I feel very determined to get my work done. Then on the days that I may be running late to work and cannot stop to get a cup of coffee, I will go to the vending machine in my office building and grab a soda. After the first sip I stats to get cold and irritated. I start wishing that I was home in bed instead of being at work.

I find myself sighing a lot and constantly looking at the clock and waiting for my lunch break to run to the nearest Way for a warm drink. I believe I watched that part of the film three or four times. The first two times I watched it I said to myself “Oh my gosh! That is so me! ” I truly enjoyed watching this documentary and I believe it was a great film. Although it may not be 100% accurate, some of the ways we make decisions are influenced by our emotions. I would have never thought that a simple beverage can really change my mood, or affect how I choose to go through my work day.