Decisions

Gut Feelings: 6 key ideas

by Gerd Gigerenzer

The core ideas of Gut Feelings, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 6

   Intuition is intelligence

   Gut feelings are based on simple rules of thumb that evolved for real environments.

   They can be fast and accurate.

2. IDEA 2 OF 6

   Less can be more

   Ignoring some information can improve decisions under uncertainty by avoiding overfitting.

3. IDEA 3 OF 6

   Recognition heuristic

   When choosing between options, picking the one you recognise often works.

4. IDEA 4 OF 6

   Take the best

   Use the single most important reason rather than weighing everything.

5. IDEA 5 OF 6

   Rules fit environments

   Heuristics work when matched to the environment.

   Know where your rules came from.

6. IDEA 6 OF 6

   Trust expert intuition

   In familiar settings with feedback, experienced people's gut feelings are often reliable.