Importance of Studying Obvious Realities of Human Affairs

…we don't have any experience being ants or atoms, so if I tell you something about them that you didn't know, it sounds exotic and non-obvious. It sounds like science. But everyone has experience being human, and so the vast majority of findings in social science coincide with something that we have either experienced or can imagine experiencing. The result is that social science all too often seems like common sense.

As social scientists have long pointed out, however, common sense can easily support opposite conclusions — which is why politicians on both ends of the political spectrum invoke it in support of their arguments, even as they disagree bitterly.

All of this puts social science in an awkward position with respect to public perception: Answering even the simplest social science questions is painstaking work; yet the answers tend to seem obvious. Worse, when results from social science do not conform to our intuitions, our reaction is not to be surprised and impressed, but rather to dismiss them.

How can we better appreciate the limits of our intuition, and hence the need to support the scientific investigation of human affairs? One interesting possibility is raised by the arrival of "big data," increasingly derived from digital communications, social media, mobile apps, and e-commerce sites. The potential for all these data to yield insight into human behavior is tantalizing; yet, the insights are often at odds with our intuition. Clearly a more rigorous, scientific approach is needed.

- From a HBR blog by Duncan Watts, Network Sociologist

Blaming People, Not Circumstances

You always thought he was a good guy. You've chatted with Jack, your senior manager, at company parties, attended numerous meetings with him, and talked privately in his office in recent weeks to discuss a new initiative you've been spear-heading. Today he made the announcement: the company is pulling the plug on your project. Naturally, you're disappointed. But how do you feel about Jack?

If you're like many people, you're thinking, "Now I see his true colors. All of his encouragement must have been insincere. When push comes to shove, Jack is just like the rest of the higher-ups: phony, risk-averse, and visionless."

Or is he? This scenario illustrates one of our deep-seated, and largely invisible, biases. We tend to attribute others' behavior to fixed personality traits (i.e. "phony", "risk-averse"), rather than considering behavior within the constraints of a situation. For example, basketball players who are made to shoot in a poorly lit gymnasium may be judged as less talented than those who are observed playing under excellent lighting. We quickly blame the player, rather than taking stock of temporary limitations. Even when we're aware of the outside pressures people face, we often continue to see behavior as a reflection of enduring qualities. We just can't help ourselves.

This phenomenon, called the "fundamental attribution error" or "correspondence bias", was observed 45 years ago in a psychological experiment by Ned Jones and Victor Harris, and has intrigued social psychologists ever since. In the words of Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, "...in everyday life people seem all too willing to take each other at face value and all too reluctant to search for alternative explanations for each other's behavior."

- From a HBR blog

Will You Die Wondering?

Over the years, I’ve done plenty of things for the wrong reasons...

For the money, for the resume, for the attention, for the approval, for the applause, for the footage, for the material, for the achievements and of course, for the need to prove myself.

But looking back, the experiences I’m most proud of, the projects I least regret and the investments that yielded the greatest dividends, were the things I did because I didn’t want to regret not doing them.

“I don’t want to die wondering,” as my friend Paul likes to say.

What a beautiful mantra.

- From a blog

Life can be a mystery, love can be a mistake, laughter can turn into tears, but these are chances we'll have to take.

- Alysha Millet