After watching the PredictionX interview with David Laibson, I had a number of follow-up questions about the connection between individual choice and psychology. I agreed with Laibson when he explained that it can be hard to rationally make beneficial choices due to noise and poor advice. In order to make good choices, Laibson suggested that it can be helpful to experience an event multiple times to learn from any mistakes. Indeed, it is difficult to learn with limited experience which brings us to the first question I would ask Laibson if I had conducted the interview. Is there a way we can combine many people’s knowledge to provide the tools for many people to make better choices? Is this essentially the function of the Internet? Further, can researching and combining the knowledge of multiple people actually help us make better decisions? Should people learn about what the best choice might be or is it better for people to figure out the best choices for them on their own? This calls into question the role of societal structures and free will. Thus, should society step in to help people make better decisions?
To watch the PredictionX interview with David Laibson, please see the link to the interview here!
Emily, your last question raises a really interesting point, and makes me wonder about the opposite- what happens when certain societal structures hinder a person's ability to make "better" decisions? Behavioral economics explores people not acting in their own self-interest, but I am curious if it takes into account people being unable to make choices in their own self-interest due to limits like financial burdens or structural prejudice (as we know, the playing field is not level for everyone). Additionally, we seem to be similarly interested in the individual aspect of prediction, and whereas previous interviews have focused on more large-scale prediction, like climate change or epidemics, it was interesting to hear this week in Dan Gilbert and David Laibson's interviews about personal level prediction. I only wonder how we can think about personal predictions and choices–and the question of free will–as they may relate to society's structural limitations.