Reflection on Thinking, Fast and Slow (Kahneman, Daniel)
Availability Cascade
Being bombarded by the information in this era is inevitable. And of course, it is also inevitable that our judgment about something is shaped by it. This is due to the tendency to seek a “mental shortcut” when making a judgment. We call this availability cascade. To make it simple, availability cascade is repeat something again and again, long enough, until this is true (reminds me of, War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength.). Quoting the example from the book, the example of an availability cascade is like: we choose not to take a plane because recently there were two plane accidents in the news. Even if actually the risk of a plane accident actually doesn’t change because of the last two events.
I have seen so many examples I can relate to the availability cascade from the people around me. I remember when I was in the university, I used to go traveling quite often. One time, I planned to go by ferry, and by that time, there were some different ferry accidents and it was aired on the TV for a couple of days. My parents, who watched TV more than me, were more worried than usual at that time. Thinking about that, since my mom follows Indian drama, I also won’t be surprised if some values my mom holds are from the series she follows. Nor will I surprise, if what I believe or what I like is also influenced by the western series I watch.
A terrorist attack can be one example of an availability cascade. Every time there is a terrorist attack, the media will air it 24 hours. We know that the chance of terrorist attack is low, especially after the incident happens (the security level logically will also increase after the attack), yet we are covered by fear. Although, maybe even though we logically can think the attack is unlikely to happen, our mind is clouded by the unpleasant images of the attack. We make the terrorist attack even more successful.
Maybe, this is also the cause of Islamophobic that happens in our world today. After several terrorist attacks (and a lot of media coverage), many people relate terrorism to Islam. But, is it true? Do we, before making a judgment, seek out the number of people die because of Islam and compare it with the number of people die because of other religion? Maybe some experts yes. But, we have to admit, most of us, don’t. Another example may be, sharks attack. How many people die because of sharks attack vs how many sharks die because of us?
Our judgment is clouded. Do we love/hate our president because of their performance? Do we think car accidents cause more death compared to diabetes? Is our preference for partners affected by the media?
Maybe what we can is to stop for a moment, to think again if what we believe for all this time is true.
Our Happiness
I like how the book put these as an example: we weight pain and pleasure as equal.
Because that what happens, at least to me. Oftentimes, when something bad happens, I feel the pain exists longer. While on the other hand, pleasure feels going so fast, you won’t even realize. You meet friends, have a good conversation, and then poof. And then you have a bad day. You desperately want the day to pass sooner.
Maybe this bias is natural. That it’s just the way – we naturally cannot handle pain the same as we handle pleasure. If it is natural, maybe we should appreciate the good moment more. When we have good moments with family or friends or our partner, we treat it as it really will pass soon. Then, if bad things happen, keep remembering that bad things happen less than good things in our life. That we are alive itself is a good thing that lasts until the very moment you read this word.