Why Richard Thaler gets mad at Daniel Kahneman and the virtues of being lazy

According to Kahneman, while he is a pessimist, he has often been called a cheerful pessimist.

Noted theorist Richard Thaler and his long-time academic collaborator the late Daniel Kahneman had opposing views on optimism and pessimism, and each were equally and strongly committed to their views.

While Thaler declared himself to be an eternal optimist, Kahneman proudly claimed the title of a pessimist. In an interaction with Moneycontrol in 2023, the Nobel Laureate, Kahneman explained why pessimism served him well and why his counter to Thaler (of Thaler being lazy) was a recognition of one of Thaler's strengths.

Kahneman died on March 27, 2024.

In his conversation with Moneycontrol, Kahneman said, “Richard always says I'm a pessimist and I always say that he is lazy." According to Kahneman, Thaler is “lazy” as it is this characteristic that makes him a superb judge of what problems one should get involved with.

“You will never find Richard doing things that are not important because he's too lazy to do those things. He only does things when they're important enough to get himself up and do it,” Kahneman added.

In a conversation with Moneycontrol, Thaler had previously commented that while he is a self-proclaimed eternal optimist, Kahneman has always been a proud pessimist who believed that if you're a pessimist, life never disappoints you. “His answer to that (question on pessimism) is that every day you think the world is going to end and it doesn't come to an end, you should be happy but being a pessimist, you find a new reason to be unhappy and worried,” Thaler had said.

Also read: MC Exclusive: Daniel Kahneman on why optimism is as bad a pessimism, when to call it quits and other insights into decision-making

According to Kahneman, while he is a pessimist, he has often been called a cheerful pessimist.

“I'm usually in a fairly good mood but it's true that my first impulse is pessimism and it usually goes very deep. So when I lose my keys, my first impulse is that I will never find them again although I should know better but this is how I think. I'm prepared, I'm already figuring out what will I do if I never find my keys. That's pessimism and that I have,” he explained.

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