Known unknowns, an impossibility theorem, and the power of regret

Known unknowns, an impossibility theorem, and the power of regret 14th February, 2022

I’ve been enjoying The Innovation Delusion by Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell. Particularly interesting when it gets to the joys and challenges of maintenance.

My colleague Gavin Jackon has recently published Money in One Lesson in the UK (US publication in April) – a really fun, vivid book with lots of lovely nuggets of information.

Wikenigma is a wiki full of known unknowns…

The Power of Regret by @DanielPink is an excellent read. Dan points out that the romantic Piafian ideal of living life without regrets is… well, kind of absurd. Regret can be useless crying over spilt milk, but it is also often a process of reflecting on our mistakes. We learn to do better in future, and we learn also about what really matters to us.

Pink has conducted a chunky survey of people’s regrets, and he groups them into four basic groups: we regret messing around and squandering opportunities ; we regret being timid; we regret our moral lapses; and we regret failures to connect with others.

As you might expect from @DanielPink it’s a breeze to read, rigorous without being overly chewy, and offers plenty to think about and to kick off good conversations.

If you want to see what happens when I try to explain Ken Arrow’s impossibility theorem, here’s your chance, courtesy @WhyInteresting.

And here’s a one-hour NPR interview with me about how to uncover truth in a world “infested” with data.

The paperback of The Data Detective was published on 1 February in the US and Canada. Title elsewhere: How To Make The World Add Up.

I’ve set up a storefront on Bookshop in the United States and the United Kingdom. Links to Bookshop and Amazon may generate referral fees.

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Originally posted on: https://timharford.com/2022/02/known-unknowns-an-impossibility-theorem-and-the-power-of-regret/