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Human behavior Quote by Herbert Simon

“What can we say for and about this behavioral version, this bounded rationality version, of human thinking and problem solving? The first thing we can say is that there is now a tremendous weight of evidence that this theory describes the way people, in fact, make decisions and solve problems. The…” quote by Herbert Simon
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““What can we say for and about this behavioral version, this bounded rationality version, of human thinking and problem solving? The first thing we can say is that there is now a tremendous weight of evidence that this theory describes the way people, in fact, make decisions and solve problems. The theory has an increasingly firm empirical base as a description of human behavior. Second, it is a theory that accounts for the fact that creatures stay alive and even thrive, who-however smart they are or think they are-have modest computational abilities in comparison with the complexity of the entire world that surrounds them. It explains how such creatures have survived for at least the millions of years that our species has survived. In a world that is nearly empty, in which not everything is closely connected with everything else, in which problems can be decomposed into their components-in such a world, the kind of rationality I've been describing gets us by.””

Herbert Simon

About This Quote

Source Book: Models of Bounded Rationality by Herbert Simon, 1997

Human decision‑making is limited by computational capacity, yet sufficient for survival in a complex world.

In simple terms: Limited cognition still works.

Key Takeaway

Design systems that match human cognitive limits.

Themes

cognition decision‑making bounded rationality

Mood

practical analytical

Type

strategic philosophical

When to use this quote

  • business strategy
  • AI design
  • education curriculum

Key Concepts

heuristics adaptive behavior complex systems

Questions to Reflect On

  • How can we improve decisions without overloading cognition?
  • When should we rely on intuition versus analysis?
A Different Perspective

Overreliance on heuristics can cause errors.

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