On making decisions

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by melbo, Aug 5, 2012.


  1. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    Out of respect for the OP of this thread: http://www.survivalmonkey.com/threads/9mm-or-40s-w.34508/ , I decided to start this as a separate thread.
    lol, I'm the same way.

    Last time I was looking to change jobs (required a move) , I even created a column and a calculation for 'happiness factor' - another column was '# of Starbucks'.

    Not that Stabucks were a deciding factor in my move but it applied another dataset to compare 3 different locations. 1 starbuck town vs 9 starbuck town is a relevant (and easily discoverable) demographic. Same for cost of living, etc.

    In the end, I boiled the choice of 3 down to a single number and we made our decision that way. I bet I still have that spreadsheet on my work laptop.
     
    Guit_fishN likes this.
  2. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    I like to boil everything down to a number/formula if I can. It takes any emotion out of the decision: "What would Mr. Spok do?"
     
  3. tulianr

    tulianr Don Quixote de la Monkey

    I like to lay all the pros and cons out on paper when making decisions as well; but it didn't work out well when I used that method to decide to marry my second wife. Some things just can't be put on paper.
     
    TwoCrows and tacmotusn like this.
  4. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    With women, I have a different method (although somewhat related). I call it "0 or better."

    It's all about mitigating and aggravating characteristics. If there's a characteristic I don't like, for example "mother-in-law" how many aggravating points is that? 7...20...99?

    Now, what are the mitigating factors that will cancel out that score and get you back to "0 or better?" Basically, what positive characteristic will cause me to ignore the negative characteristic? There needs to be preponderance of +s over -s.

    I know what you're thinking and it isn't true. Sooper-hot, make-up clad, Playboy quality chick.....all negatives in my book. Lots of hand-wringing in your future.
     
    Capt. Tyree and tulianr like this.
  5. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    On the other hand, looking like Rosanne Barr is not necessarily a positive.
     
  6. TheEconomist

    TheEconomist Creighton Bluejay

    As an economist numbers are everything.

    As a hockey player...I put a map up and shoot slap shots until only one option remains.
     
  7. tulianr

    tulianr Don Quixote de la Monkey

    Yeah, being miserable with super hot wife is better than being miserable with a Rosanne look a like.
     
    tacmotusn likes this.
  8. Silversnake

    Silversnake Silverback

    Old school...

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    TwoCrows and oth47 like this.
  9. Silversnake

    Silversnake Silverback

    Seriously, a decision matrix with weighted values and cumulative scoring are fantastic for decisions unusual or overly complex to the decision maker. Eventually, the decisions become intuitive with experience.
     
    Guit_fishN and Brokor like this.
  10. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    The key for me is in turning intangibles into weighted tangibles. In my scenario on a job/relo, I didn't actually pick the 'best' score but at least I know exactly, to a hundredth of a percent what I was getting into.
     
    Guit_fishN and Silversnake like this.
  11. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I agree. I'm just a savant when it comes to decision making.

    Do savant's make lots of mistakes, too? I'm gonna just say "yes". Easy as pie.
     
  12. Silversnake

    Silversnake Silverback

  13. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    That's some good stuff. The problem I see with many people is that they use intricate tools in work, military ops, investment decisions but then make rash decisions with little thought towards the line authority of their 'home staff'.

    Most people make unintelligent decisions at home, which should be more important than when at work.
     
    Guit_fishN likes this.
  14. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    Definitely an aggravating circumstance of infinity plus one. But, ya know, she could lose weight and have her face cut on some more and she'd still be undesirable because of her attitude.

    I didn't mean to snuggle up to somethin' fugly. I meant that a really hot, glitzy, glam girl is probably going to cause you a lot of mental anguish--it did me...several times.
     
  15. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    I dunno about that. At least if you're miserable with the Rosanne wife your friends will feel sorry for you. If you complain about your super hot wife, they'll just roll their eyes and offer to trade places with your ungrateful self.
     
    Sapper John, Silversnake and tulianr like this.
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