We Are More Rational Than Those Who Nudge Us – Steven Poole – Aeon

The belief that human behaviour can be perfectly modelled, predicted and controlled entrains as a consequence the collapse of equitable relations between individuals and trust in institutions, and the substitution of algorithmic certainty for any semblance of participatory, democratic society. There is no appeal to collective, contestable decision-

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Forget woo-woo renaissance or digital fatigue. We're witnessing a recalibration of how humans navigate complexity. After drowning in data and still making spectacularly bad collective decisions, we've rediscovered that intuition deserves more than tokenistic respect.

Our moral thinking is much more like a politician searching for votes than a scientist searching for truth.

Whenever a prediction is made about people, it is an attempt to deny they are creative and can do the unexpected. Sure, you might ask your friend where they would like to have coffee and they respond just as they always do. “You’re so predictable” you might say. Of course that’s not a prediction. You share a culture - a history - a set of memes tha... See more