If only humans weren’t so….human!

Really disappointed by the New Scientist, one of my fave weeklies.

In the August 15th issue, they lazily fall for the well-worn rationalist trope in cognitive and behavioural science:

Humans would be great (rational) and make great decisions all the time (rational) if only they weren’t so darn…human

Your brain lets you down with all its shorthands and the cognitive biases that come from it – you need to learn to train it. To stop it being so “irrational”.

Forget all of the great stuff that being human and having a human brain gives us.

Ignore the fact that much of the time, our minds serve us incredibly well and efficiently.

Instead, let’s just complain that humans aren’t utility calculating robots – what the Nudge gang call “Econs”