A Mistake? Schwass You, Buddy.

Schwass
Album:
Song: The Mole Man

I always have several books on the go at any one time.  Right now the one I'm spending the most time with is Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph Hallinan.  Its basic premise is that human beings are in some ways hard-wired incorrectly, that our brains are ill equipped, in certain situations, to process information.  It's an interesting read, and as someone who is fascinated by the seemingly innate irrationality of our species, I find in it compelling answers to questions I've asked my whole life.

Did you know, for example, that as a general rule people feel more responsible for their actions than their inactions?  That is, we tend to view inaction as a passive event, and we therefore feel less responsible for the consequences of inaction because, well, we didn't do anything.  Another way of framing this idea is via the notion of regret. Some of our mistakes cause us more regret than others, and because we feel less responsible for our inactions we therefore feel less regret for our inactions.  Consequently, we are far more likely to repeat our errors of inaction, simply to avoid regretting our actions.  Also, and perhaps most interestingly, fore-knowledge of this fact does not significantly change our actions, because, claims Hallinan, we are by nature irrational creatures. 

So if you've ever wondered why a significant other or colleague or friend allows bad feelings to persist rather than confronting a problem head on, well, now you've got your answer.  Couple this with the fact that we are notoriously poor at sussing out the root causes of our mistakes and we find a perfect recipe for continuing to make irrational errors.

What does this have to do with our song of the day?  Nothing. Couldn't find any information on the band. If anyone can help me out with artist, song, and album info I'd appreciate it. Oh, and I found out about the song because it's the tune accompanying the latest Ford commercial. Shallow, but what the fuck.