Ultimate optimization is impossible

Summary

• It is physically impossible to have all the information necessary to make a fully optimized decision.

Details

• We are limited by:
  • imited information
  • limited mental capacity
  • limited time
• optimization is universally unlikely, yet we keep trying to achieve it.
• It makes much more sense to attain good enough even if there is a potential better option.

References

• Think for Yourself - Restoring Common Sense in an Age of Experts and Artificial Intelligence - Vikram Mansharamani
• Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon

Related

• Decision tool - What would my future self like
• Never judge a decision by its outcome
• Affect Heuristic - decisions by emotion