I was reading a book on numerics and statistics this morning and the author quoted Kahneman (as fact) as if humans make decisions in two speeds. According to Kahneman’s binary ‘theory’ humans only make decisions at two speeds – slow/rational/analytical and fast/automatic. This is a myth, there is … [Read more...] about The Myth of Fast and Slow Thinking
kahneman
Adversarial Collaboration for Learning in Safety
Adversarial Collaboration for Learning in Safety This is the title of a recent video published by Daniel Kahneman. It’s not surprising that Daniel Kahneman has found lots of fans in the safety industry. How neat and binary to fall for this fast and slow brain thing. It’s just unfortunate that it … [Read more...] about Adversarial Collaboration for Learning in Safety
Non-Binary Decision Making in Risk
Non-Binary Decision Making in Risk Decision Making is NOT fast and slow as Kahneman proposes, indeed such a construct is unhelpful. It’s a shame that Kahneman’s work is so popular in the risk and safety industry because this binary construct is misleading about why and how humans do what they do. … [Read more...] about Non-Binary Decision Making in Risk
Kicking the Behaviourism Habit
A habit is something we do without thinking, if we know we are thinking of a behaviour as we do it, then it’s not a habit. The nature of habits and the human unconscious remains a mystery to the Discipline of Neuroscience. Indeed, simplistic pop psych books like Duhigg’s The Power of Habit and … [Read more...] about Kicking the Behaviourism Habit
Right and Wrong in Safety
Right and Wrong in Safety Safety is fundamentally a moral and ethical activity. Any desire for a ‘good’ or a virtue, necessitates an ethic. Unfortunately, even in how Safety shapes its own identity it doesn’t know nor consciously articulate an ethic. Even the brand of ‘professional’ demands an … [Read more...] about Right and Wrong in Safety
I Just Don’t Know
I Just Don’t Know I was talking with a friend recently who works in risk and safety. They shared a story about how a relatively serious incident had occurred at their company and despite a very thorough and detailed examination of the events that lead up to and followed the incident, the reason(s) … [Read more...] about I Just Don’t Know
