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October 15, 2008

On decision making to solve crises

    Deciding on the best of a set of good alternatives isn’t psychologically the same as deciding on the best of a set of bad alternatives. Think of U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Henry M. Paulson, Jr. His decisions for solving the world’s banking crisis are like soldiers’ decisions in the Bataan Death March, summed up in this passage:

One thing Ray Hunt learned in war is that life is not a series of clear-cut decisions between good and evil: it is sometimes a succession of choices among alternatives that are disagreeable. (Quoted from page 98 of From Bataan to Safety: The Rescue of 104 American Soldiers in the Philippines, by Malcolm Decker. 2008. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company.)

    For the history of the Bataan Death March, click here.

October 15, 2008 |

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Books by H. Charles Romesburg

  • H. Charles Romesburg: The Life of the Creative Spirit

    H. Charles Romesburg: The Life of the Creative Spirit
    Practically all of the quotations in this blog's posts are collected in "The Life of the Creative Spirit."

  • H. Charles Romesburg: How About It, Writer?

    H. Charles Romesburg: How About It, Writer?
    Based on a study of more than 12,000 essays from the very best literary magazines, this book provides writers with lists of thousands of classic forms of opening sentences, titles, transition sentences, ways of saying "for example," and ways of closing nonfiction pieces. When you are writing an essay and want a hint for a better or fresh way of saying what you mean, looking through the lists acts on the imagination, stimulating your creativity. From Lulu Press (ISBN 1-4116-2862-4, 194 pp., softback), it's $16.95 when ordered from Lulu.com/Romesburg , and $22.95 from bookstores. To view its cover, click on www.cnr.usu.edu/romesburg/how_about_it_writer.htm To view its title page, contents, and first two chapters, click on: www.cnr.usu.edu/romesburg/how_about_it_writer_preview.pdf

  • H Charles Romesburg: Best Research Practices

    H Charles Romesburg: Best Research Practices
    The Saunterer’s new book (2009), Best Research Practices explains how to plan and carry out reliable experiments, how to conceive and circumstantially support research hypotheses, how to test research hypotheses with the hypothetico-deductive method, how to discover cause and effect, and more. It’s based on his examination of 5,000 top scientific articles, studying the methods used to produce reliable knowledge. Preview it on-line by going to the following link: http://print.google.com/print?isbn=9780557017836

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