ABSTRACT
Some human interactions do not work out the way people plan. For example:
Police said two burglars struck a Texas store that sells high-end security equipment, and the whole thing was caught on tape by 17 cameras rolling in the store. (https://stupidcriminalfile.blogspot.com/)
An attempted drive-by shooting was stopped when the shooter forgot to roll down his window. (www.dumbcriminals.com/; original story at https://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/11/wis_man_attempt.php)
Peter Addison and his friend Mark Ridgeway vandalized the Toc H center, a children’s campsite building. They smashed crockery, set off fire extinguishers, and drew graffiti on the walls. Part of the graffiti said, “Peter Addison was here.” Police found Addison through a computer database. Both teenagers pled guilty and were ordered to pay for the damage. (www.neatorama.com/2007/12/18/the-top-ten-stupid-criminals-of-2007)
News of the Weird provides another characteristic portrait of humanity. Best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. 1 People make poor choices for lots of reasons: because they have a dim understanding of their circumstances, pursue goals counterproductively, or have intentions and 111motives that are odd or destructive. This chapter focuses, on the contrary, on people who are instrumentally rational—very good at calculating the best way to achieve goals (Chapter 6.3). The puzzle of the chapter is that people who have no particular defects in reasoning can nonetheless still make themselves worse off from their interactions with others.