Knowledge and Decisions by Thomas Sowell
Key Takeaways
Humans’ most severe restraint is knowledge but still must make important decisions
Examine and judge companies, people, etc. based on process / results over lofty goals
Realize the importance of incentives, constraints, feedback mechanisms
Sowell examines evolution of decision-making processes and how it spreads between different areas
No person or group is likely to have sufficient knowledge to make a perfect decisions the first time around
There is an independent reality through which each individual perceives only imperfectly, but which can be understood more fully with feedback that can validate or invalidate what was initially believed
Ideas are everywhere but knowledge is rare
Civilization an enormous device for economizing on knowledge. As people live closer together, ideas and their adoption spread much quicker
Need to consider not only how much we know but how well we know it
How decisively we act depends on how certain we are of the consequences
