This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Poor Charlie's Almanack" by Charles T. Munger. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What is the availability bias? How do you curb the availability heuristic bias?
The availability bias is the tendency to over-inflate the value of information that is recently available and ignore other important data that would have helped in making a better decision. You can curb this tendency by always using a methodical decision-making process.
Read on to learn more about the availability bias.
What It Is
Your brain works with what’s available to you and doesn’t think as hard about what’s missing. This applies broadly to facts, memories, and concepts (you don’t think about what evidence you’re missing), and emotions (you don’t think hard about whether it’s wise to feel a different emotion).
Why It Evolved
The availability bias evolved because we have a limited capacity to remember, recall, and think, so we jump to what’s easily available. (Shortform note: Possibly, availability bias helps to increase weight on the most recent places you found food, and not the place that worked a year ago.)
How It Can Be Harmful
By using only what’s recently available, the availability bias causes you to ignore other important data that would have helped you make a better decision.
The availability bias amplifies other biases, mainly in misjudging the small amount of information that is available to you:
- Stress influence: You have to make a decision fast, and the easiest information to recall is what’s available.
- Contrast misreaction: The most recent change and the most visible change is emphasized.
- Social proof: When you’re in a crowd, you get a massive cognitive input of seeing crowds of many humans behaving together. This crowds out independent thought and makes it harder to see that there are alternatives.
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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Charles T. Munger's "Poor Charlie's Almanack" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full Poor Charlie's Almanack summary :
- A collection of Charlie Munger’s best advice given over 30 years
- Why you need to know what you’re good at and what you’re bad at to make decisions
- Descriptions of the 25 psychological biases that distort how you see the world
