Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel laureate in psychology, passed away at the age of 90. His name became inseparably linked with the field of behavioral economics, despite his lack of formal training in economics.
Kahneman, the renowned psychologist and author of the best-selling book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, shattered the prevailing belief that humans are purely rational creatures driven solely by self-interest.
Instead, he contended that our actions often stem from instinct and intuition. Princeton University, where Kahneman had been a faculty member since 1993, recently announced his passing.
“Danny was a giant in the field, a Princeton star, a brilliant man, and a great colleague and friend,” said prof Eldar Shafir.
“Many areas in the social sciences simply have not been the same since he arrived on the scene. He will be greatly missed,” he added.
Daniel Kahneman, born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1934, spent a significant portion of his formative years in France, which was under Nazi occupation. During this time, his father held a prominent position as the head of research at a chemical factory.
In 1948, just before the establishment of the state of Israel, the family relocated to what was then British-ruled Palestine.
Daniel Kahneman graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1954, majoring in psychology with a minor in mathematics. Four years later, he embarked on his doctoral journey in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 1961 Kahneman embarked on his academic journey in Jerusalem, assuming the role of a psychology lecturer. It was during this time that he crossed paths with Amos Tversky, a fellow cognitive psychologist. Their collaboration would later culminate in their joint Nobel Prize win for Economic Sciences in 2002.
The collaborative efforts of Kahneman and Tversky laid the groundwork for the immensely popular book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, which hit the shelves in 2011.
This enlightening work delves into the intricate world of decision-making psychology. Within its pages, the authors delineate two distinct systems that govern human thinking and choices: the fast, intuitive, and emotional – and the slower, more deliberative, and more logical.
The premise of the book posits that our swift, intuitive mind often assumes the driver’s seat, steering our daily decisions. In contrast, the deliberative, logical part of our minds occasionally takes a backseat. It’s precisely in this interplay that errors may stealthily infiltrate our choices.
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