GK
Gary Klein
19quotes
Gary Klein: A Pioneer in Cognitive Psychology and Decision Making
Full Name and Common Aliases
Gary Alan Klein is a renowned American psychologist, decision analyst, and author who has made significant contributions to the field of cognitive psychology.
Birth and Death Dates
Born on September 5, 1936, Klein is still active in his work and continues to write extensively on decision making and problem solving.
Nationality and Profession(s)
Gary Klein is an American psychologist by profession. He is a pioneer in the field of naturalistic decision making, which emphasizes the importance of intuition and experience in making decisions.
Early Life and Background
Klein was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family. His early life and background have had a significant influence on his work. Growing up in a family that valued education and critical thinking, Klein developed an interest in psychology at a young age. He went on to study psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his undergraduate degree.
Major Accomplishments
Klein's most notable accomplishments include developing the theory of naturalistic decision making, which challenges traditional views of decision making as a rational and systematic process. He has also made significant contributions to our understanding of intuition, expertise, and experience in decision making. Klein's work has been widely recognized and applied in various fields, including business, medicine, and law enforcement.
Notable Works or Actions
Some of Klein's notable works include:
"Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions" (1999): This book is a seminal work on decision making and explores the role of intuition, expertise, and experience in making decisions.
"Streetlights and Shadows: Searching for the Keys to Adaptive Decision Making" (2007): In this book, Klein argues that decision makers need both analytical thinking (streetlights) and intuitive thinking (shadows) to make effective decisions.
Impact and Legacy
Gary Klein's work has had a significant impact on various fields, including business, medicine, and law enforcement. His theory of naturalistic decision making has challenged traditional views of decision making and has led to the development of more effective decision-making strategies.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Klein is widely quoted and remembered for his insightful comments on decision making and problem solving. His work continues to inspire new generations of researchers, practitioners, and students who are interested in understanding human behavior and decision making.
Quotes by Gary Klein

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The more central the belief is to our thinking, the harder it is to give up. These core beliefs anchor our understanding. We use them to make sense of events, to inquire, and to arrive at judgments about other ideas. And so we are much more likely to explain away any anomalies rather than revise our beliefs in the face of them.

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I still observe executives exhibiting the same lack of courage or knowledge that undercut previous waves of innovation. They declare that they want more innovation but then ask, ‘Who else is doing it?’ They claim to seek new ideas but shoot down every one brought to them.

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We can increase insights by exposing ourselves to lots of different ideas that might help us form new connections.

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Martin Chalfie is a perfect example of the experience most people have of “connecting the dots” and solving a problem by being exposed to more ideas. Like Chalfie, we get a new piece of information that combines with other information we already have, and, presto, we make a discovery.

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Insights change our desires; the new stories shift our goals, leading us to give up some ambitions and pursue others.

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To quote Mark Twain, “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.

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On November 9, 1989, while CIA experts on Soviet and East German politics were briefing President George H. W. Bush on why the Berlin Wall was not likely to come down any time soon, a National Security Council staff member politely entered the Oval Office and urged the president to turn on his television set – to see both East and West Germans battering away at the Wall.

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Curiosities provoke people to investigate further, just as coincidences do. The initial “What’s going on here?” reaction doesn’t contain the insight, but it starts the person on the road to gaining the insight.

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Intuition is the use of patterns they’ve already learned, whereas insight is the discovery of new patterns.

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When we put too much energy into eliminating mistakes, we’re less likely to gain insights. Having insights is a different matter from preventing mistakes.
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