Did I ever mention how much I love Cognition?

As we were talking about reasoning and decision making in class this morning, we discussed the optimism bias.  The optimism bias refers to the fact that people in general think they are smarter, prettier, stronger, better, etc. than they actually are.  "Then there are some people that have a more realistic view of themselves and the world.  These realists tend to be depressed.  So take your pick.  Realistic, but depressed or optimistic, but wrong."

Later, we were talking about sunk costs.  Sunk cost is when you continue investing in something that is not paying off, because you don't want to lose your investment.  

Professor: But we don't do this in real life, right?  Wrong.  Does this sound familiar?  "You really should stop seeing him.  He's a loser."  "But then all that time will be a waste."  There are going to be so many break-ups this weekend.

Student:  Thanks to you we're all now going to be depressed and single.