decision science

It's not that I'm anti-social, but I don't participate in the green movement, nor in the race to save all who are suffering in Africa and elsewhere, nor usually even to keep my family and friends updated and in-the-loop about me and my life. I haven't made a conscious decision to behave in these ways, and I haven't made a conscious decision not to.

You might say that it's my culture to do them, but my culture is so diffuse and heterogeneous that it would be silly to characterize it this - or any other - way. You might say I'm just lazy, but if that's true then at least 99% of humans are lazy, and again that seems a silly way to characterize things.

Instead, I'm going to propose that, even though I roughly understand the negative consequences of using styrofoam, not volunteering for an unpaid internship in India, and not calling my mother, I do them because they benefit me as a person. Although I am dedicated to the greater good in some ways, it's not in my actions.

There are a myriad reasons for this, including personal inertia, my own fear and uncertainty, and my sense of achievement from all the other activities which I personally value more than environmentalism and other trendy worldviews. There's a growing field of study designed to deal with these issues - decision science. I don't know much about it and don't have time to learn right now - back to homework!