Maxims for Thinking Analytically: The wisdom of legendary Harvard Professor Richard Zeckhauser

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Thinking Straight

Maxim 1 – When you are having trouble getting your thinking straight, go to an extreme case
Maxim 2 – When you are having trouble getting your thinking straight, go to a simple case
Maxim 3 – Don’t take refuge in complexity
Maxim 4 – When trying to understand a complex real-world situation, think of an everyday analogue
Chapter 2 – Tackling Uncertainty

Maxim 5 – The world is much more uncertain than 
you think
Maxim 6 – Think probabilistically about the world
Maxim 7 – Uncertainty is the friend of the status quo
Chapter 3 – Making Decisions

Maxim 8 – Good decisions sometimes have poor outcomes
Maxim 9 – Some decisions have a high probability of a bad outcome
Maxim 10 – Errors of commission should be weighted the same as errors of omission
Maxim 11 – Don’t be limited by the options you have 
in front of you
Maxim 12 – Information is only valuable if it can change 
your decision
Chapter 4 – Understanding Policy

Maxim 13 – Long division is the most important tool for policy analysis
Maxim 14 – Elasticities are a powerful tool for 
understanding many important things in life
Maxim 15 – Heterogeneity in the population explains many phenomena
Maxim 16 – Capitalize on complementarities
Chapter 5 – Living Fully

Maxim 17 – Strive hard not to be envious – see your friend’s success as your gain
Maxim 18 – Eliminate regret
Maxim 19 – Make pleasure-enhancing decisions long in advance, to increase the utility of anticipation
Brief but important life maxims
Living with the Maxims

Appendix A – Gratitude

Appendix B – Contributors

References

Index

About Richard Zeckhauser 

About the Author

Notes