If you suspect that this post is going to be useless, you are probably right. On the other hand, if you suspect that this post will reveal something that could change your life, you are also probably right. In fact, whatever you think right of the bat is probably right, or at least somewhat right. That’s the proposition of Gerd Gigerenzer, a German social psychologist whose ideas were popularized by writer Malcolm Gladwell. In this interview, the New York Times chats with Gigerenzer about why gut feelings are very often right on the money, and why Ben Franklin was wrong when he advised his nephew that when he made important life decisions, he should do it like
a bookkeeper  list all the pros and cons and then make the decision,
after weighing everything. Read more about the power of gut instincts in the New York Times.
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Thursday, April 16, 2026
Gladwell did not say that all initial reactions are correct, but that many are and the ones that are correct are frequently the result of much experience and training.
Incorrect ones include the shooting by police of the African in New York, standing on a porch late at night, and who did not speak English. The police mistook him for a burglar and the “weapon” for which he reached was his wallet with his ID.