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    Decisions, Decisions: Some We Struggle To Make, Others We Can't Forget

    This week on the Hidden Brain radio show, decision-making. We learn why we often stumble when trying to make ourselves happy, and why certain decisions leave us wondering "what if?"
    by Shankar Vedantam Jul 25, 2019 1 minute
    Dan Gilbert says we're not great at predicting how much we will enjoy an experience in part because we fail to consider all of the details. We think a visit to the dentist will be terrible — but we're forgetting about the free toothbrush, the nice chat with the dental hygienist, and the magazines in the waiting room.

    We just can't let go of some decisions. We replay them in our head and imagine alternate endings.

    These sorts of looping mental videos are called counterfactuals. says there's real value to wondering "if only."

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