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> I've learned that short-term thinking is at the root of most of our problems Greedy (aka "short-term thinking") algorithms provide optimal solutions for many
by d0mine 12y ago
> I've learned that short-term thinking is at the root of most of our problems
Greedy (aka "short-term thinking") algorithms provide optimal solutions for many (but not all (obviously)) problems.
- pbhjpbhj 12y agoIt sounds like you've missed the point - yes the optimal solution short term might be one action, but sometimes losing in the short term is more optimal in the long term. Like say, a vote for socialism reduces a companies profits but retains the humanity of government in the long term (made up example obv.). Moreover, long term solutions encompass the solution space of short term ones - so if short term thinking is required then you can choose the short-term thinking solution that optimises for the long view outcome.
- d0mine 12y agoPerhaps the reference to computer science was not very clear in my previous comment [1]. "Optimal solution" means the best possible (globally) over all possible dimensions including time. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greedy_algorithm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greedy_algorithm The point being is that even a short-term thinking may yield long-term benefits sometimes.