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Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Are you boring or optimal?

Collage of pieces of paper with the word "option" on them
(Credit: Geralt/Pixabay)
My husband and I devote at least one night a week to date night. Date night typically includes dinner, a movie, or concert. As you might guess, we ask ourselves if we should go to someplace new or a favorite. My husband is a proponent of new things and limiting return visits. I tend to go with what I like and trust. Therefore, our pre-dinner decision making can cause a little grief. If we go to the same place, are we in a rut and boring?

In his TED Talk “3 ways to make better decisions—by thinking like a computer” cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths gave me practical strategies for making better decisions for future decisions of this nature:
  • Explore – Try something new and learn from it.
  • Exploit – Use the information you already know is pretty good.

How might you relate this the explore/exploit method to repetitive decisions on the fireline? What are the pros and cons of this method?
Digging a Little Deeper
About the Author: Pam McDonald is a writer/editor for BLM Wildland Fire Training and Workforce Development and member of the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee. The expressions are those of the author.
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