Flip a coin.
-
People who make major life decisions on the toss of a coin end up happier, study says
Making decisions based on the flip of a coin could help you live a happier life, according to a study.Researchers found that those who make choices using a coin toss are more likely to go ahead with the decision, are more satisfied and have higher overall happiness six month down the line.
Scientists at the University of Chicago, asked people to make significant decisions, such as whether or not to move house, quitting your job or propose. One choice, either affirmative or a negative, was assigned to heads or tails...
Professor Steven Levitt, of the University of Chicago, said: 'Society teaches us "quitters never win and winners never quit", but in reality the data from my experiment suggests we would all be better off if we did more quitting.
'A good rule of thumb in decision making is, whenever you cannot decide what you should do, choose the action that represents a change, rather than continuing the status quo.'
This the same Steven Levitt of "Freakonomics" fame.
-
Luke Rhinehart was right.
-
An idea that has been explored many times in literature and movie making.
Link to video Link to video -
Nothing obvious is ever considered a "major decision" so the fact that the decisions are major points to plenty of pros and cons to them. So among those decisions where the prediction of the outcome is low confidence, it helps psychologically to take no personal responsibility for the decision making process and accept what comes as if it was what nature demanded. It makes sense from that perspective. But the main thing is the sorts of decisions one would leave up to a coin, in this study. They are by definition of ambiguous "happiness" value and the very fact of removing personal responsibility and potential regret from the equation, is enough to tip the "happiness" scale in favor of that decision making process.
It is for this reason that I believe in a system of government which would force all of its citizens, upon penalty of imprisonment, to make large life decisions based on a coin flip. It would be for their own good, and they would be happier. I care so much about other people that I would do that for them - force them to flip a coin to make their life decisions. Sometimes I marvel at how wonderful and pure my heart is, that I would go to these lengths, just to make other people happier.
