Lessons from Breaking into My Own House

Introduction

• Personal anecdote: Breaking into own house during a cold Montreal winter night.
• Forgot keys inside, no quick solution, broke basement window to get in.
• Point of the story: Using experience to discuss handling stress and planning for worst-case scenarios.

Effects of Stress on the Brain

• Under stress, brain releases cortisol.
  • Raises heart rate.
  • Modulates adrenaline.
  • Clouds thinking.
• Personal example: Next morning, forgot passport due to stress.
• Concept of cloudy thinking under stress demonstrated through personal travel mishap.

Prospective Hindsight and Pre-Mortem

• Dinner with Danny Kahneman and the concept of prospective hindsight (pre-mortem).
  • Originated from psychologist Gary Klein.
  • Analyze potential failures ahead of time to prevent them or minimize damage.
• Implementing pre-mortem in daily life.

Practical Tips

Around the Home

• Designate specific places for easily lost items.
  • Keys: Hook by the door or decorative bowl.
  • Passport: Specific drawer.
  • Reading glasses: Specific table.
• Importance of hippocampus in spatial memory.

For Travel

• Take and store cell phone pictures of important documents (passport, credit cards).
  • Store in the cloud as backup.

Medical Decision-Making

• Importance of rational decisions under stress.
  • Example: High cholesterol and statin prescription.
• Key statistic to ask for: Number Needed to Treat (NNT).
  • Many medical practices have high NNT, e.g., statins (NNT of 300).
  • Assess side effects against benefits using NNT.
• Example: Prostate surgery for men over 50 (NNT of 49).
  • Significant side effects for half of patients.

Conclusion

• Pre-mortem practice helps in making better decisions by anticipating possible issues.
• Practical example: Installed a combination lock after breaking into own house.
• Emphasis on gradual improvement and organization.

Thank you!