ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY?!

In an earlier post I had introduced the KITCAT, that mischief of the Kitchen God that (sometimes literally!;)) spices up one's day. Well, suffice it to say, that that is not where it ends. In a classic case of the once bitten twice shy rule, I am now mortally scared of boiling milk in the oven! Although before the KITCAT, that has been something I have done almost unthinkingly, now I am very scared to heat my daily mug of milk in the oven for fear of future KITCATs! This fear does not extend to other cooking activities, even those involving the oven in question. Just the milk that is all! Still figuring out a way to overcome my fear of this particular KITCAT!

Learning behavior is an interesting phenomenon. Some things in life we learn because of positive reinforcement-rewards, both tangible and intangible; and some behaviors are unlearnt because of negative reinforcement-punishments, both tangible and intangible! The latter category is where I would place my fear of the KITCAT(s).

Research in organizational learning documents an interesting phenomenon called 'superstitious learning' whereby a firm tries to mimic the practices of another successful firm, just because the former views the practices of the latter as having led to the latter firm's success. Such behavior, researchers say, overlooks other possible factors which might have in fact contributed to the success of the firm. Thus firms are said to be bounded by their rationality, or limited perception about the nature of success or the nature of the environment in which they function.

This behavior at the organizational level also finds parallels in individual behavior. We try to follow the leader without actually analyzing as to what led to the leader's success to begin with. What is true of positive behaviors like striving for success, is also true of negative behaviors, such as avoiding risks, fears, anxieties, worries, etc. Individuals also possess 'bounded rationality'-a limited perception about the choices available, or information about their environment. Economics offers theories of individual (economic) decision making, and explains individual bounded rationality in much more detail.

Awareness that one's information or skills may be limited in dealing with a particular problem, or in overcoming certain fears, is the first step towards solving that problem. Thus when confronted with a problem (or a freak occurrence like an exploding mug of milk!) one should seek further information on possible causes of that problem. Does that mean I am going to run to the University library to borrow all the books I can find on malfunctioning microwave ovens? Probably. Is that information going to alleviate my fear? Maybe. Maybe not. This brings me to an interesting dilemma: why is it that given ALL the information I can find in this world, I still choose to listen to what I feel, and not necessarily what I think?

I dont know! Never thought about it!