(no subject)

[randomness]

You can't make a lot of progress trying to figure out human behavior unless you start from the premise that people are not rational but their actions can follow some observable patterns.

That premise tends to derail observers who assume rationality. They often have difficulty getting their analyses back on track. Worse off are those who refuse to incorporate human irrationality and proceed to build a theoretical structure on false premises.

My own understanding of people improved enormously after I understood this.

Comments

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

That's pretty smart stuff.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It doesn't seem that way now--what it seems is obvious by inspection--but this kind of insight never really does in retrospect.