Empathy gaps
I observed, for example, that when I got an invitation to travel to give a talk in a different time zone, it mattered what time zone I was in when I got the invitation. if well rested, in my home time zone, I would think, No big deal, about making a long trip and would […] The post Empathy gaps appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION .
The article "Empathy Gaps" explores how our emotional state can impact our decision-making, particularly in situations involving travel and time zone changes. The author notes that when well-rested and in their home time zone, they would likely accept an invitation to give a talk in a different time zone without much thought. However, if they were jet-lagged and in a different time zone when the invitation arrived, they would be far more likely to decline, citing the misery of travel as a reason.
The author references a book called "The Opposite of Happiness: How Bad Feelings Make and Break Us" by George Loewenstein to further explain this phenomenon. Reading Loewenstein's work raises the question of whether researchers in the field of behavioral economics might be more depressed than average. The author mentions having met several depressive individuals in their life, but one of the most consistently miserable people they've known is their friend and collaborator, Matthew Rabin.
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