How to Make Decisions in an Imperfect World

The insight that the best ideas are imperfect is vital to remember if we want to learn how to make decisions and take action.

For example, Albert Einstein developed the general theory of relativity, which is one of the most important ideas in modern physics. However, while his ideas explain how the universe works, it breaks down in certain cases (like inside black holes.)

These famous words of statistician George Box pointed out that we should focus more on whether something can be useful in daily life than debating if it is correct in all cases. The test of knowledge is utility, not truth.

Einstein's work was not always correct, but it has been very useful to increase our understanding of the world and to use for practical purposes such as the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) used in your phone.