can lead to poor outcomes not because humans are bad at it but because they syst

http://www.dan.sperber.fr/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/MercierSperberWhydohumansreason.pdf”Reasoning can lead to poor outcomes not because humans are bad at it but because they systematically strive for arguments to justify their beliefs or their actions. This explains the confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and reason-based choice. These fundamental biases and flaws of human reasoning are well known. What the argumentative theory does is put them in a different perspective. Human reasoning is not a profoundly flawed general mechanism, it is a remarkably efficient specialized device (Mercier, submitted). It is not specialized for a specific domain of knowledge, but for a certain type of social and cognitive interaction. The task of finding persuasive reasons and accurately assessing others’ arguments, in which reasoning excels, is no small matter.”

http://www.dan.sperber.fr/…/MercierSperberWhydohumansreason…