6 hours ago
- Charles Darwin made a pro-con list to decide whether to marry, but his method was mediocre compared to Benjamin Franklin's 'Prudential Algebra'.
- Steven Johnson's book 'Farsighted' argues that big decisions often lack the calculated rigor of small ones and advocates for decision science techniques like scenario planning and charrettes.
- Philosophers like Edna Ullmann-Margalit and L.A. Paul highlight that transformative choices (e.g., having children) involve shifting values, making traditional decision theory inadequate.
- Agnes Callard's concept of 'aspiration' suggests that self-transformation is a gradual process of trying on new values, not a sudden decision, and that inarticulateness is a sign of growth.
- The author's personal journey to parenthood illustrates aspiration: a long, uncertain process of coming to value fatherhood, with sadness from infertility and joy in the ongoing mystery.
- Decision-making for complex life changes requires embracing uncertainty, seeing big choices as explorations of who we become rather than value-maximizing equations.