I'd be interested to see if any of these techniques have a measurable impact on decisions with any consequence.
It seems like all these decisions are completely arbitrary, and I know that I'm always looking for any dumb excuse to pick one arbitrary option over another.
> I'm always looking for any dumb excuse to pick one arbitrary option over another
Flip a coin.
I sometimes get paranoid that cultural belief systems, cultural environments and all the knowledge of humanity has indoctrinated me into a specific modality of thinking that is so well formed and 'correct' that I don't even think to question it's influence on me, because that would be ridiculous, right? It's just so hard to argue against, because it's like a wall of reason, logic, observation, and rationality. That, or pretending I have magic powers - which I do.
When you stop to think about how much you assume to be true without looking for hard evidence of those assumptions actually being true - because those assumptions are based on assertions by people you assume are more intelligent/educated or influential than you, and then you base all your decisions on those assumptions, some of which may actually be flawed, invalid, untrue or manipulated to someone else's agenda, it's hard to know just how much of your thought process is authentically your own... right down to the fabric of society that is woven into your psyche.
Look around you and ask yourself how much of it is actually authentic and makes any real difference in your life. Is any of it authentic? Is any of it really you? How much of it is manipulated by the media, who are really just a proxy for the influencers of the network owners... the choices of shows on available to us on the TV, the way the news is portrayed, the mood of ads that barrage us constantly, the influence of corporations on government that use lobbyists to pass bills that propagate the cycle...
I daresay that a miniscule portion of your thought process is actually your own [hypothetical you, not actual you]. Much of what we do going unexamined until something major happens in our lives - divorce, job loss, health issues, death that causes us to stop and examine life and ask ourselves - How much does any of this routine matter? How much of it makes any tangible difference?
I do that too, but I still notice patterns. Then the mechanic for constructing of 'anti-patterns' for a choice mechanic is patterned itself.
I just do my stuff for thinking new thoughts. I did a zen thing where I deconstructed every concept and word, and essentially "broke" it in my mind - gave it no power in it's meaning, and thus could not use it in reasoning. I did this over and over and over.
The important part is that I didn't need a reason to destroy the meaning - because I've always lived maintaining my theories until they are proven incorrect, while accumulating information to build on them. But some stuff doesn't prove itself incorrect, because it's a self perpetuating pattern.
That's where I became paranoid about viral ideas, things that are true simply by the virtue of their construction. The construction is considered correct, therefore application of the construction can never be questioned. And I don't know if that really means anything about human existence, but I know it pisses me off when I feel like I've been spoon-fed a way to think.
Mine is useful for sitting alone in my room, staring at a wall of books. I don't really have a lunch problem. I eat lunch at my desk.
That's because 99% of human decisions are made emotionally. We may be masters of justification, but ultimately the decision is made emotionally, using logic and rationale to justify our emotional needs. If you sway someones emotion, they will justify their emotional needs by whatever means at their disposal. This is why manipulation works.
This is also why religious debates and wars transpire - even in a developer environment where we pride logic and meritocracy above all: Visual Studio is clearly better than Eclipse, the PC will always be better than the Mac, Android is better than the iPhone and Git is better than TFS ;)
It seems like all these decisions are completely arbitrary, and I know that I'm always looking for any dumb excuse to pick one arbitrary option over another.