Slow Thinking for Fast Decisions

In his best selling book ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’, Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman discusses the dichotomy of human thought. Human brains have two quite separate ways of reacting to a challenge, a question, a decision. The first one is quick, emotional and instinctive. The second one is slower, logical and calculating. It is often the case that humans make decisions using the first way of thinking, when in fact they should be using the second one. 

The effect of this is several paradoxes and miscalculations that arise due to this different approach, the most famous being the 'Linda problem': 

Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations.

Which is more probable?

1. Linda is a bank teller.
2. Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement.

Most people will use their first way of quick thinking to select option 2 as the most probable option guided by the description of Linda's background. However, some slow thinking will reveal that option 2 is a subset of option 1 so it cannot possibly be more probable. 

Lawptimize is a platform that wants to ensure that all the thinking that is done by lawyers and clients in litigation is slow thinking that calculates the options in detail and stops the alarmingly dangerous (and possibly wrong) quick thinking. By analyzing the options available, the options available to the opponent, the expected value of each case and the way that the expected value is modified depending on the options, lawyers and clients are guaranteed to make the right decision at the right time - and also to take advantage of the possible quick thinking of their opponents. 

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