Surrounded By Idiots
Most of us walk through life assuming that people make choices rationally.
After all, isn’t that what separates humans from other animals? We weigh costs against benefits, plan for the future, and try to act in our best interest.
At least, that’s the theory.
In practice, humans are anything but perfectly rational. We procrastinate, give in to cravings, act on impulse, and care about things that don’t fit neatly into spreadsheets.
Much of the world has been designed as if people are robots. But we are not.
We’re all human, and being human means making mistakes.
The good news is that behavioural economics and behavioural science can help us better understand ourselves and others.
Rational Agents vs Real Humans
For centuries, classical economics was built on the concept of homo economicus, the rational agent.
Thinkers like John Stuart Mill believed people acted logically to maximise utility, and in doing so, benefited everyone.
Later, Von Neumann and Morgenstern formalised the “four axioms of rational behaviour”: completeness, transitivity, continuity, and independence.
Under this view, humans:
1. Gather all relevant information before acting.
2. Calculate risks and rewards with mathematical precision.
3. Stick consistently to their goals.
4. Care only about self-interest.
It was neat, simple, and mathematically elegant. But it wasn’t true.
Herbert Simon challenged this in 1957 with his concept of bounded rationality: people don’t optimise; they satisfy.
Limited by time, attention, and information, we settle for good-enough choices.
Kahneman and Tversky took it further in 1979 with prospect theory, showing that losses loom larger than gains, upending the assumption of rational risk-taking.
It was the first crack in the illusion of rationality, opening the door for a revolution.
Behavioural Economics
By the 1980s and 90s, economists began integrating psychology into their models. It was the birth of behavioural economics; wave two in the evolution of behavioural science.
The findings were both humbling and enlightening:
1. Procrastination: Thanks to present bias, we delay tasks even when we know they’re essential.
2. Indecision: Too many choices overwhelm us, creating paralysis rather than freedom.
3. Uncalculated Risks: Overconfidence leads to gambling, bubbles, and reckless decisions.
4. Cravings and Impulses: Emotion, not logic, drives much of our consumption.
5. Short Attention Spans: Humans aren’t wired for endless focus.
6. Altruism: We care about fairness, empathy, and cooperation—not just self-interest.
Suddenly, the “idiocy” we observe daily looks less like chaos and more like patterned, predictable behaviour.
A Few Case Studies
Behavioural economics is applied psychology at scale, and some of the most compelling examples come from everyday life:
Retirement Savings
Traditional logic assumed people would save if given the chance. In reality, procrastination got in the way.
Automatic enrollment flipped the script: employees were enrolled by default instead of opting in. Participation soared. Programs like “Save More Tomorrow” let workers commit future raises to savings, sidestepping loss aversion.
Lesson: Work with inertia, don’t fight it.
Organ Donation
Countries with opt-in systems have far lower donor rates than those with opt-out systems.
It’s not that citizens are more or less altruistic; defaults matter when choices are emotionally heavy.
Lesson: Small design shifts change lives.
Netflix and the Autoplay Trap
Think you’re in control of your entertainment choices? Netflix’s autoplay feature proves otherwise.
By removing friction between episodes, it exploits short attention spans and present bias. What was meant to be “just one episode” becomes a late-night binge.
Lesson: The same nudges that help can also be used to exploit.
Healthy Eating in Cafeterias
Move fruit to eye level and hide the candy, and people eat healthier without a word of persuasion.
It’s not willpower; it’s environment.
Lesson: Structure, not self-control, drives behaviour.
The Rise of Behavioural Science
By the 2000s, behavioural insights had matured into behavioural science, a broader, more interdisciplinary field.
Thaler and Sunstein’s Nudge popularised structuring choices to guide people toward better decisions without restricting freedom.
Governments caught on.
The UK launched the first official “Nudge Unit” in 2010, trialling behavioural insights in tax collection, health policy, and sustainability. A single nudge in a tax letter raised compliance by £200 million. Similar units now exist worldwide.
Behavioural science has expanded the toolkit to:
1. Health policies: Boosting vaccination uptake through reminders.
2. Sustainability: Encouraging energy conservation via peer comparisons.
3. Finance: Reducing late payments with simple text nudges.
4. Gender Equality: Designing hiring processes to mitigate bias.
What began as academic theory was now reshaping public life.
Cultural Evolutionary Behavioural Science
The latest evolution goes beyond psychology and economics, weaving in insights from cognitive science, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and anthropology.
This cultural evolutionary behavioural science asks bigger questions, such as:
1. Why do behaviours vary across cultures?
2. How do social norms, group psychology, and evolutionary dynamics shape cooperation?
3. What role do context and history play in decision-making?
This wave addresses earlier blind spots.
For too long, behavioural science focused on WEIRD societies (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic). But culture matters. What works as a nudge in London may flop in Lagos.
Applications are already emerging, such as:
1. Public health campaigns adapted to local traditions.
2. Democratic institutions redesigned to reduce polarisation.
3. Digital behaviour analysed through the lens of cultural norms.
4. Corruption and cooperation are studied not as moral failings but as products of context.
Behaviour isn’t just individual psychology. It’s social, cultural, and evolutionary.
So Why Does It Feel Like We’re Surrounded by Idiots?
Understanding this evolution reframes the way we see others.
The colleague who delays work isn’t necessarily lazy; they may be wrestling with present bias. The driver who cuts you off isn’t always evil; they may be responding to bounded rationality in a high-pressure environment. The friend who can’t choose a restaurant isn’t indecisive; they’re drowning in the paradox of choice.
We tend to judge others harshly while excusing ourselves, a bias psychologists call the fundamental attribution error.
Recognising that everyone is subject to the same biases dissolves the illusion of idiocy.
A Few Closing Thoughts
We are not surrounded by idiots (at least not always). Instead, we are surrounded by humans who are brilliant, flawed, distractible, cooperative, and endlessly fascinating.
The real idiots are those who still design policies, workplaces, and technologies as if we are perfectly rational machines.
Until next time, ponder what would happen if we stopped expecting robotic perfection and embraced behavioural realities. Will it not open the door to better systems, kinder societies, and wiser choices?
Dion Le Roux
References
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