There are two problems in decision-making. Representation is how we structure and evaluate information. Discovery is how we acquire information.
The Civ tech tree is one of those rare cases where “the map is the territory.” The problem of representation is handled for you by the computer program, and it is a perfect representation. You’re just trying to discover the map/territory so that you can choose the best route. Of course, you’re still left with the tricky problem of choosing a good overall strategy for the game that you’re in, but that’s irrelevant to your post.
Most real-world problems are dramatically more difficult. The problem of representation is not solved for you, and is impossible to solve perfectly.
So my interpretation of your post is that it’s easy to fall into a bad decision-making process, even when you’re working on a particularly simple problem.
There are two problems in decision-making. Representation is how we structure and evaluate information. Discovery is how we acquire information.
The Civ tech tree is one of those rare cases where “the map is the territory.” The problem of representation is handled for you by the computer program, and it is a perfect representation. You’re just trying to discover the map/territory so that you can choose the best route. Of course, you’re still left with the tricky problem of choosing a good overall strategy for the game that you’re in, but that’s irrelevant to your post.
Most real-world problems are dramatically more difficult. The problem of representation is not solved for you, and is impossible to solve perfectly.
So my interpretation of your post is that it’s easy to fall into a bad decision-making process, even when you’re working on a particularly simple problem.