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Make better life choices

Charles Duhigg, Pulizer prize-winning journalist, describes probabilistic thinking and how it can help you make better life choices.

After you watch the video, consider the following questions.

  • Why do you think probabilistic thinking (entertaining and evaluating multiple possible futures) is so difficult and unnatural for many people?
  • Consider an important decision you (or someone you know) need to make in the near future. Describe it briefly. Outline some of the possible choices you could make and their possible outcomes.
  • As you begin to think about the complex problem you have chosen to tackle, what case studies could you gather to inform your thinking process?

To get a fairly accurate idea of the probability of each outcome above, where could you look for relevant case studies of failure and success? Who could you talk to? What are some likely sources and approaches?

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Critical and Strategic Thinking in Practice

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FutureLearn - Learning For Life

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