[bellaire]

A utility function or cost/benefit tradeoff isn't a matter of opinion. If your situation and available information dictates that a certain decision is rational, then we aren't talking about you.

The whole point is that, given a concrete, rational analysis of any particular situation, studies show that people have cognitive biases which induce them to select the wrong choice. The examples given are some of the more popular ones.

It's not just a matter of people using different mathematical models. Decision making is an inherently emotive process, and pretending human beings are, on the whole, totally rational decision makers is a fantasy. That said, we are perfectly capable of making rational decisions if we are trained how to do so and disciplined enough to follow through, but the power of cognitive biases should not be understated.

[jdp23]

> A utility function or cost/benefit tradeoff isn't a matter of opinion.

Well, they're both contextual and subjective; different people looking at the same utility function or tradeoffs will come to different conclusions. Maybe we mean something different by 'matter of opinion'.

> studies show that people have cognitive biases which induce them to select the wrong choice.

Studies (done by people with specific cognitive biases according to conventions defined by people with specific cognitive biases) show that participants make choices that they authors of the studies consider "wrong" or "suboptimal". As you say, the power of cognitive biases should not be understated.