"What is the charge? Satisficing?!"
July 25, 2026 at 11:28 AM
"What is the charge? Satisficing?!"
begging epistemologists / philosophers of science / political economists to more publicly defend satisficing from the cult of optimal
September 23, 2024 at 9:10 PM
begging epistemologists / philosophers of science / political economists to more publicly defend satisficing from the cult of optimal
Didn’t expect a Herbert Simon reference here
September 9, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Didn’t expect a Herbert Simon reference here
they are maximizing donor happiness. they are satisficing voter anger.
May 20, 2025 at 3:24 AM
they are maximizing donor happiness. they are satisficing voter anger.
“Satisficing” is a word I did not know I needed until today. Perfectly encapsulates where we are with LLM workflows.
July 17, 2025 at 3:19 AM
“Satisficing” is a word I did not know I needed until today. Perfectly encapsulates where we are with LLM workflows.
Retvrn to satisficing en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secreta...
Secretary problem - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
April 22, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Retvrn to satisficing en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secreta...
Satisficing, but "good enough" is underground
September 19, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Satisficing, but "good enough" is underground
Just depressing, lost people.
Maximising everything they can measure and somehow still falling below every satisficing threshold that actually turns out to matter.
Maximising everything they can measure and somehow still falling below every satisficing threshold that actually turns out to matter.
January 29, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Just depressing, lost people.
Maximising everything they can measure and somehow still falling below every satisficing threshold that actually turns out to matter.
Maximising everything they can measure and somehow still falling below every satisficing threshold that actually turns out to matter.
Rawls isn't perfect. (Who is?) But you can teach a group of teenagers the basic concept with 15 minutes and some dice.
Agree it's a kludge, but more and more I'm convinced any electorally successful politics requires lowest-common-denominator satisficing and kludges.
Agree it's a kludge, but more and more I'm convinced any electorally successful politics requires lowest-common-denominator satisficing and kludges.
September 23, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Rawls isn't perfect. (Who is?) But you can teach a group of teenagers the basic concept with 15 minutes and some dice.
Agree it's a kludge, but more and more I'm convinced any electorally successful politics requires lowest-common-denominator satisficing and kludges.
Agree it's a kludge, but more and more I'm convinced any electorally successful politics requires lowest-common-denominator satisficing and kludges.
Satisficing machines
LLMs like ChatGPT have actually done the thing people claimed Google or Wikipedia would do, in that LLMs have stopped people being curious and actually learning how stuff works, or how one gets the answer to a question. Superficial intelligence for the superficially intelligent
August 27, 2024 at 2:25 PM
Satisficing machines
This also obtains to human sense-making. We have to put in effort not to be satisficing all the time
"do not underestimate the utility of convenience vs correctness" is also imho a good way of looking at how human visual perception works. we don't "see" the world as it is.
we experience the cheapest model that's good enough that, on balance, lets us survive.
we experience the cheapest model that's good enough that, on balance, lets us survive.
May 31, 2025 at 7:39 PM
This also obtains to human sense-making. We have to put in effort not to be satisficing all the time
An observation I’ve noticed in my work in crisis informatics is that peoples’ desire for information moves faster than the pace of reality (and people always bridge over the gap with rumors, satisficing, make-believe, etc)—and that this especially applies to information workers and crisis responders
Last night I read a manifesto from the UnitedHealthcare shooter that was shared by a journalist, which ... turns out not to have been the manifesto at all.
I think its a good reminder that journalists - no matter the medium, or how you got to the profession - should verify first before sharing.
I think its a good reminder that journalists - no matter the medium, or how you got to the profession - should verify first before sharing.
December 10, 2024 at 9:52 PM
An observation I’ve noticed in my work in crisis informatics is that peoples’ desire for information moves faster than the pace of reality (and people always bridge over the gap with rumors, satisficing, make-believe, etc)—and that this especially applies to information workers and crisis responders
We call this "satisficing champagne socialism" and I am a partisan
it turns out that capitalism only works up to the point where people start having enough money that "more money" ceases to be a meaningful incentive
i think what disgusts me the most is that businessmen valued harassing their female employees over their everything else, including their duty to shareholders
December 17, 2025 at 12:13 AM
We call this "satisficing champagne socialism" and I am a partisan
in interaction design, you learn about "satisficing"
people will take the first option that is decently close enough to what they want
it's why the order of menus and poll questions matters so much
i think money is the ultimate satisficing engine
people will take the first option that is decently close enough to what they want
it's why the order of menus and poll questions matters so much
i think money is the ultimate satisficing engine
April 20, 2025 at 7:19 PM
in interaction design, you learn about "satisficing"
people will take the first option that is decently close enough to what they want
it's why the order of menus and poll questions matters so much
i think money is the ultimate satisficing engine
people will take the first option that is decently close enough to what they want
it's why the order of menus and poll questions matters so much
i think money is the ultimate satisficing engine
I read about "satisficing" many years ago and adopted it. It's good enough for me! 😉
Gift link.
Gift link.
Opinion | Your Decision Making Is All Wrong
www.nytimes.com
May 12, 2026 at 1:28 PM
I read about "satisficing" many years ago and adopted it. It's good enough for me! 😉
Gift link.
Gift link.
algorithms have ruined satisficing
June 4, 2025 at 2:07 PM
algorithms have ruined satisficing
Hadn't heard of "satisficing" but I've been doing it. At times I felt I wasn't obsessive enough (ie Harbaugh) but while that might've made me richer, don't think it would've made me happier.
"Satisficing hasn’t been a lowering of standards. It’s been a stop sign at the point of diminishing returns"
"Satisficing hasn’t been a lowering of standards. It’s been a stop sign at the point of diminishing returns"
I walked away from the NFL at the age of 24. Here’s what I’ve learned since
Former NFL linebacker Chris Borland wrestled with adapting to change and starting anew. Then he read a book that changed his thinking.
www.nytimes.com
September 11, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Hadn't heard of "satisficing" but I've been doing it. At times I felt I wasn't obsessive enough (ie Harbaugh) but while that might've made me richer, don't think it would've made me happier.
"Satisficing hasn’t been a lowering of standards. It’s been a stop sign at the point of diminishing returns"
"Satisficing hasn’t been a lowering of standards. It’s been a stop sign at the point of diminishing returns"
Canadian survey data often low quality compared to the US ime. more satisficing in respondents, more variables coded incorrectly, etc. you don't realize how professional the ANES/CES are until you're dealing with something else.
August 11, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Canadian survey data often low quality compared to the US ime. more satisficing in respondents, more variables coded incorrectly, etc. you don't realize how professional the ANES/CES are until you're dealing with something else.
satisficing mentioned! ❤️
September 5, 2026 at 12:55 AM
satisficing mentioned! ❤️
also satisficing will be the death of us
(yeah, I know)
(yeah, I know)
April 13, 2026 at 6:59 PM
also satisficing will be the death of us
(yeah, I know)
(yeah, I know)
Satisficing for the win
February 7, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Satisficing for the win
Inexpensive satisficing < Costly maximalist aspirations
February 28, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Inexpensive satisficing < Costly maximalist aspirations