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While I'm sure some in the feast/famine group "just" need to get their act together. It's not always that's simple. Most people have a limited number of good c

by jopsen 7y ago

While I'm sure some in the feast/famine group "just" need to get their act together. It's not always that's simple. Most people have a limited number of good choices in a day: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_fatigue https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_fatigue Maybe other concerns/issues were causing some of them to run out of good decision bandwidth. Note. I'm not claiming that all poor decisions can be explained this way.

WalterBright 7y ago
Privates in the military don't get to make many decisions while on duty :-) They were ordered to get counseling from my dad, and he provided a budget for them. No decisions required.
- hnhg 7y ago
  You aren’t privy to what goes on in their heads, so you can’t really say either way.
  - WalterBright 7y ago
    Then the whole "decision fatigue" thing is a theory without any real support.
    - Retric 7y ago
      Except you can run experiments to falsify the hypothesis. Perhaps they spend a lot of mental effort not acting out on the average day. Or perhaps the routine has become habitual and they really don’t think about it.
wisty 7y ago
Ego depletion is questionable - http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story/2016/03/ego_depletion_an_influential_theory_in_psychology_may_have_just_been_debunked.html http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story... I think this meta-myth (that some people just can't make good decisions) is becoming a hysterical epidemic - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_psychogenic_illness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_psychogenic_illness I think there's a mass nocebo (evil placebo) effect. "I can't, because of ego depletion / decision fatigue / not enough spoons". This then becomes a kind of self fulfilling prophecy - people do give up more easily when they have an excuse, and don't have to admit they're just making a bad choice because they're (relatively) greedy and short-sighted.
- jopsen 7y ago
  > "I think..." Yet, many studies show how poverty and decision fatigue (or some variant there of) goes hand in hand, often in a negative feedback loop. _I think_ it's likely that poor people don't read these studies, and, thus, are not subject to your nocebo effect. Note. I didn't say it explained all behavior.
Kluny 7y ago
True, though that's a tough argument to make when it comes to Air Force privates, who have their day scheduled, no choice of clothing, and written procedures for almost everything they do all day.

by jopsen 7y ago

WalterBright 7y ago

Privates in the military don't get to make many decisions while on duty :-) They were ordered to get counseling from my dad, and he provided a budget for them. No decisions required.

hnhg 7y ago
You aren’t privy to what goes on in their heads, so you can’t really say either way.
- WalterBright 7y ago
  Then the whole "decision fatigue" thing is a theory without any real support.
  - Retric 7y ago
    Except you can run experiments to falsify the hypothesis. Perhaps they spend a lot of mental effort not acting out on the average day. Or perhaps the routine has become habitual and they really don’t think about it.

wisty 7y ago

Ego depletion is questionable - http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story/2016/03/ego_depletion_an_influential_theory_in_psychology_may_have_just_been_debunked.html http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/cover_story... I think this meta-myth (that some people just can't make good decisions) is becoming a hysterical epidemic - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_psychogenic_illness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_psychogenic_illness I think there's a mass nocebo (evil placebo) effect. "I can't, because of ego depletion / decision fatigue / not enough spoons". This then becomes a kind of self fulfilling prophecy - people do give up more easily when they have an excuse, and don't have to admit they're just making a bad choice because they're (relatively) greedy and short-sighted.

jopsen 7y ago
> "I think..." Yet, many studies show how poverty and decision fatigue (or some variant there of) goes hand in hand, often in a negative feedback loop. _I think_ it's likely that poor people don't read these studies, and, thus, are not subject to your nocebo effect. Note. I didn't say it explained all behavior.

Kluny 7y ago

True, though that's a tough argument to make when it comes to Air Force privates, who have their day scheduled, no choice of clothing, and written procedures for almost everything they do all day.