Making bad judgements and cognitive fallacies is a part of life. Many people can define a cognitive fallacy as a mental mistake. In simpler terms, it’s something that you thought would be correct, however multiple sources say that you’re wrong. Many times however, these bad judgements can be consistent or recurring, and that’s what Daniel Kahneman introduces in his writing, “Don’t Blink! Hazards of Confidence.” Believing you are right when it has been proven that you are wrong is not uncommon when it comes to cognitive fallacies. Kahneman explains this well in his writing listed above as he talks about cognitive fallacies and how they affect certain situations, such as stock broking.
In my own experience, I’ve had my own bad judgements. Years ago, roughly 9 or 10 if I’m correct, I was visiting the beach with my family. As we were about to pay for parking, the lady working there said that the waves were very big and the undertow was dangerously strong, and told us that it is highly recommended to stay out of the water. And, well, she wasn’t kidding. The waves were twice the size of me, and they crashed right onto the shore. I recognized this and decided to listen. At first. So I decided to just play in the sand with my siblings, making sandcastles and creating animals out of the sand. After some time, it got quiet. I decided to look at the water and it had appeared to slow down. And me, being a naive child, decided that it was safe to go in. I looked towards my family, all of whom were tanning, so they didn’t notice me sprinting towards the water. I got about waist deep, until I felt a sharp pull at my legs. I was brought off my feet and swiftly went to what would be deeper water. Only the ground didn’t get lower. I was lifted up into a wave that was three times my size, or at least that’s how big it felt. Everything seemed to just slow down. My head emerged at the top of the wave, and I noticed all the faces on the beach were looking straight at me. It was at this point that I knew I was terrified and that there was nothing I could do. That’s when I shot downwards. The waves threw me down with seismic power and slammed me against the soft sandy beach. I couldn’t breath for a short while because the impact had winded me. Thankfully, I had not gotten injured in any way. Perhaps if I had landed on a harder surface, more damage would have been done. That afternoon I thought about how bad of a mistake that was, and for a while I never wanted to swim again. It didn’t quite take me a long time to get over this because it wasn’t really traumatic, but I do remember a time where I refused to swim in fear that I would wipe out again. I remember working ankle deep, then slowly making my way deeper with the encouragement of my cousins and siblings. But now I love swimming and it has become a common for me to jump into the water with big waves again because I now know my limits.
My story relates to Kahneman in a few ways. One of these is the coherence of a story that lets us believe that our choices make sense, even though it is evident that they don’t. Kahneman tells us a lot about cognitive fallacies in “Don’t Blink! The Hazards of Confidence.” He introduces this concept by explaining his first bad judgement to the reader. When he trained army recruits to see who could potentially be a commanding officer in the near future, he would give them a difficult task with people they didn’t know. They would see who could take charge in situations that required teamwork. When he sent the results to his own commanding officer, he was told that his feedback was useless, and didn’t benefit anyone. In my story, I thought that what I did was correct, when it was obvious that it wasn’t. And even though he was told this, he was too focused on believing he was right, and continued doing the same thing over and over. He notices that this is a cognitive fallacy, or a mental mistake (Kahneman 2). In his writing, he explains how these fallacies are made by someone creating a story in their head. In my case, I believed that me going to the water would show that it’s no longer dangerous and that everyone could go in. In Kahneman’s case, he believed that his results from the experiment were beneficial to his commanding officers. These stories may leave out details to help both me and Kahneman believe we are right, and creates a bias.This bias is made because we both refused to believe that we’re wrong. Kahneman claims that everyone does it, however some cases can be a little more noticeable than others.
Although his story was much different than my own, they both revolve around making a mistake. My mistake was me thinking that the water was safe to go into, even though hundreds of people staying away was a big indication that I was wrong. In Kahneman’s case, he believed his data that he sent to his commanding officers was helping them pick recruits for special training. It was evident to them that his “help” wasn’t doing anything. After reading Kahneman’s writing, I have noticed that these mistakes can happen at any time and with anyone, though sometimes they aren’t very evident. Although Kahneman talks about big examples from his own experience, I have seen smaller ones. One that the majority of students show is repeated failure in homework when they do not understand the content. Kahneman showed me that everyone has a similar mindset when it comes to making mistakes. Everyone does it, but they’re also afraid of doing so. This proves Kahneman to be correct because I believe that part of it is that when people do make mistakes, they try to cover it up with their own stories to help them prove to themselves and sometimes others that they are correct. Kahneman introduces this as a theory. People will make up stories in their own head to help them get passed the fact that they are wrong. The story will be made so that it has some sort of coherence to what the person believes. Because of this, many people leave out details that could be crucial to proving them wrong, but since said person does not want to believe they’re wrong, they ignore these and try to leave them out.
Making that decision to go into the water was not exactly the brightest idea I have had. I believe that the reason I did that is because I was an adventurous and naive kid who thought he was invincible. I thought that since the water had died down, that the ocean was inviting everyone to come swim with it. So I made the choice to be a leader and be the first to jump into the water. It was already too late for me as soon as I felt the pull at my legs. I realize what I had done, and I’m more aware of when things might still be dangerous even though they may appear like they’re not. It was a little difficult for me to get back into the water like the kid I used to be, and I am more than happy that I didn’t let this change my mind about things for a long time. But now I don’t regret doing that. Now I know that looks can mean very little in the real world. I also understand that life will throw me around and that I will always get winded by one thing or another.
Making Cognitive fallacies is not essentially the worst thing that can happen to someone, and bad decisions are important for learning new lessons. Being wrong can show you where you made your errors and how you may be able to change or maybe even fix it. Being able to notice your own mistakes can prove that you will make errors, and these errors will better you as a choice maker and even as a person. Making good decisions in your life can also put you in good spots for your future. If you make good decisions, you will be able to find yourself where you want to be. Sometimes, even making bad decisions can benefit people. Some of the most successful people made one choice that changed their lives for the better. I have grown to believe that everyone has a moment where a single choice can determine the entire path for their future. It’s whether or not they want to act on it that makes the difference.
