The hottest Decision-making Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Using Psychology to Improve User Onboarding

UX Psychology • 377 implied HN points • 14 Jul 23
🕹 Technology UX Design Psychology User Experience Decision-making
  1. Leverage psychology in user onboarding to create informative, enjoyable, and memorable experiences.
  2. Utilize the Zeigarnik effect by using progress meters, reminders, and allowing partial profile completion to keep users engaged.
  3. Decrease complexity with Hicks' law by reducing choices, highlighting easy options, and using progressive onboarding to improve decision-making and enhance user experience.

eisenhower as cybernetician

Dan Davies - "Back of Mind" • 373 implied HN points • 30 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Cybernetics Systems theory Decision-making Information Technology Computers
  1. Dwight Eisenhower highlighted the importance of maintaining balance in national programs and between private and public sectors.
  2. There was a new decision-making system created by the conjunction of military and industrial establishments.
  3. The warning was given that this system could generate outcomes not necessarily desired, seek growth, and be influenced by technological advancements.
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A proposal for importing society’s values

Musings on the Alignment Problem • 519 implied HN points • 09 Mar 23
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Simulation Social Decision-making
  1. AI systems like ChatGPT face value-based decisions that are complex and can be polarizing, highlighting the need to align AI to individual and group preferences.
  2. A proposed process called simulated deliberative democracy aims to use large language models to simulate human deliberations on value questions, offering a scalable and transparent approach.
  3. The proposal presents pros like scalability, transparency, and potential for inclusivity, but also faces challenges such as representativeness, aggregation method complexities, and difficulties in simulating how people change their minds.

Gigaheroes

Trantor Publishing • 159 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
⚔ Fiction Betrayal Decision-making Survival
  1. The protagonist shows conflicting emotions of thrill and despair while navigating through dangerous situations in the city.
  2. The story involves themes of betrayal, redemption, and facing the consequences of one's actions.
  3. There is a sense of urgency and sacrifice as characters make tough decisions to survive and protect each other in the face of danger.

My Cup Runneth Over

Investing 101 • 46 implied HN points • 19 Oct 24
📖 Philosophy Beliefs Wisdom Learning Knowledge Decision-making
  1. It's really important to figure out what you believe and why you believe it. By understanding your beliefs, you can make better decisions in life.
  2. Learning isn't just good for personal growth; it's also important for keeping a free society. When people are informed, they can make better choices as citizens.
  3. When exploring ideas, try to do so based on your own research instead of just following popular trends. This way, you can discover unique insights that others might overlook.

Supreme Court Roulette

Adam's Legal Newsletter • 339 implied HN points • 04 Aug 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Supreme Court Judicial system Decision-making
  1. One proposed idea is Supreme Court Roulette, where a randomly selected Justice's view becomes the opinion of the Court.
  2. The current system of majority rule in the Supreme Court does not necessarily guarantee better or more reasoned decisions.
  3. Implementing Supreme Court Roulette could lead to more moderate decisions reflective of the country and improve incentives for the Justices.

TBM 229: Winnable and Unwinnable Games (Part 3)

The Beautiful Mess • 1110 implied HN points • 07 Jul 23
💼 Business Management Decision-making Leadership Problem Solving Organizational Behavior
  1. Hierarchy creates a chain of communication in which information gets oversimplified as it moves up, leading to an unwinnable game
  2. Passing information up the chain results in details being shaped and possibly distorted based on audience and perceived urgency
  3. The ideal conditions for a 'good game' are challenged in scenarios where goals become unclear, feedback loops are long, and motivations are dwindled

What We Suffer For

Living Fossils • 19 implied HN points • 04 Dec 24
📖 Philosophy Existentialism Identity Ethics Human experience Decision-making
  1. Writing can be a double-edged sword. It brings joy and purpose, but it can also take you away from real-life experiences.
  2. Many people accept suffering to fit in and maintain their identity. They often fear what they would become if they let go of that identity.
  3. People often endure pain to avoid loss. They may stick with unhappy jobs or relationships just to prevent the fear of losing something they have.

When to Use Forecasting for Decisions

Abstraction • 19 implied HN points • 13 Dec 24
💼 Business Decision-making Forecasting Risk management Strategic Planning Data Analysis
  1. It's not always worth it to forecast when making decisions. Sometimes it's better to prepare for the worst or trust experts who know what they're doing.
  2. For less important choices, you can follow proven rules or experts. This makes decision-making easier and saves time.
  3. When facing big decisions, like moving cities, it's smart to gather data to guide your choice. Using information about others’ experiences can help you make better decisions.

"Just Tell Me What To Do"

Living Fossils • 26 implied HN points • 13 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Existentialism Decision-making Cultural Commentary Mental health
  1. Many people today feel overwhelmed by choices and just want someone to guide them. This need comes from the stress of having to make so many decisions in life.
  2. Science provides clear and accurate answers but often lacks comforting explanations for big life questions. This can leave people feeling lost and spiritually empty.
  3. We’re seeing a shift in how society shares values and norms, leading to individualism. This makes it hard for people to know the right choices, causing them to seek external guidance.

Maybe You're Not Actually Trying to Solve Your Problems?

FutureIQ • 1 implied HN point • 30 May 25
📖 Philosophy Agency Advice Self-help Psychology Decision-making
  1. We often give better advice to others than we take for ourselves. When faced with our own problems, we might ignore good solutions we would recommend to a friend.
  2. People can solve issues at work but struggle with personal challenges. Sometimes, if we applied the same skills from one area of our life to another, we'd find better outcomes.
  3. Our mindset can get stuck in a low point, causing us to miss out on solutions. It's important to remember that our capacity for action can change over time, and we should revisit problems with a fresh perspective.

Preorder Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit & Wisdom of Charles T. Munger

Stripe Press • 275 implied HN points • 03 Oct 23
🚌 Education Investment Philanthropy Ethics History Decision-making
  1. The book shares timeless lessons on investment strategy, philanthropy, and living a rational and ethical life
  2. It emphasizes the importance of learning from history to prepare for the present and future
  3. The book's goal is to help readers become broad learners with a greater understanding of the world

Humans—and GPT-4—are predictably irrational

The Counterfactual • 219 implied HN points • 07 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Cognitive Science Behavioral Economics Language Models Decision-making
  1. Humans often make decisions based on emotions and biases, rather than pure logic. This means they're not always rational, which is important to understand.
  2. Large language models like GPT-4 can show similar irrational behaviors. They can make mistakes in judgment much like humans do, which gives insight into how we think.
  3. The way people attribute beliefs to others can change based on the situation. When faced with strong pressures, people are less likely to jump to conclusions about someone's beliefs.

Seconds to Strategy: How Your Relationship with Time Shapes Your Career

Five Links (and three graphs) by Auren Hoffman • 243 implied HN points • 26 Feb 24
💼 Business Career Choices Decision-making Time management Professional Skills Job Interviews
  1. Different career decisions are optimized on different time scales from sub-second to months to years.
  2. Professions like athletes and speed-chess players excel in making sub-second decisions through muscle memory and pattern matching.
  3. Job interviews are typically designed for quick-time decisions, but should be adjusted based on the timescale of the job.

Insights from Peter Drucker's Iconic Book "The Effective Executive"

The Digital Leader Newsletter -- By John Rossman • 235 implied HN points • 20 Jul 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Decision-making Communication Innovation
  1. Being an effective executive is about managing yourself, not just others.
  2. Key practices for effective leadership include focusing on opportunities, not just problems, and running productive meetings.
  3. Decision-making involves understanding principles, making opinion-based choices, and following through with effective communication.

When Inner Knowing directs us in Ways that Make No Sense

The Leadership Lab • 177 implied HN points • 28 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Wellness Integrity Emotional Intelligence Decision-making
  1. Integrity involves energetic wholeness, energy flow, congruence, and alignment, allowing for the full flow of energy and aliveness.
  2. Denying impulses can lead to complexity and drama in life, it's important to honor and confront our deepest wants.
  3. In decision-making, focus on learning about yourself and staying present in the process, moving beyond the idea of right or wrong answers.

Leaving the Military: What I Learned

The Radar • 119 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
💼 Business Career transition Leadership Work Environment Communication Decision-making
  1. In civilian life, don't expect people to understand or care about your military experiences. You are a new kid on the block.
  2. Be cautious of trust and mutual support in civilian teams. Not everyone has the same values and can work against you.
  3. Job security is different in the civilian world. Always be prepared for uncertainties and be mindful of stricter performance expectations tied to pay.

The Morality Paradox

Who is Robert Malone • 18 implied HN points • 30 Nov 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Morality Agency Leadership Decision-making
  1. High-agency people have the ability to shape their own lives and pursue their goals actively. They take control and create opportunities instead of just waiting for them.
  2. Being goal-oriented is important, but high-agency individuals also display qualities like resilience, discipline, and creativity. They aren't just about making plans; they push through challenges.
  3. While high-agency behaviors can lead to great achievements, they may also come with a lack of empathy or ethical considerations. It's crucial for these individuals to balance ambition with integrity.

goodhart in the youth club

Dan Davies - "Back of Mind" • 216 implied HN points • 26 Apr 23
💼 Business Decision-making Government Systems Information processing
  1. Decisions about people will always involve unique cases that don't fit neatly into data sets.
  2. Industrializing decision-making processes can be efficient but may introduce bias and fail to capture complex information.
  3. Including qualitative data like the impact of funding youth clubs in accounting systems requires careful consideration to avoid distorting measurements.