ajj

On the same lines, I think us hackers need to understand a pitch for investors / consumers.

I've seen hackers read a pitch and say "bah..what expectations and grandeur." But its not intended for us - its intended for the non-technical folks. Simplifying an idea might make it sound more general. Its really not always grandeur.

I suspect this comment would not have been downvoted had it not mentioned the word "astrology".

Many of the points are good. I believe one point is true about advice in general: "They confuse pattern matching with knowledge", which I think is often very true for advice from professors, parents, friends, etc. A pattern failed a few times might provide insight, but it must be presented in that perspective, rather than using it to draw general and strong conclusions. Someone/something might have failed in spite of the pattern rather than because of it.

I have often used my finger trying to scroll on a GPS screen, only realizing it doesn't work a few seconds into it.

It also depends on whether the deal is optional or required, in some sense. In the example, the jury believe some award is fair, then price anchoring has an effect, as demonstrated. However, I think this might not be equally valid for "optional" deals - if I find a cool gadget that I am not sure about buying, if the seller quotes 10x the price I expect, I might just walk (as opposed to say, 1.5x). With deals that have to happen in some sense, and only the price is not set (say a job offer, or an injury award), price anchoring seems more effective. Of course I have nothing to back this up, just my feeling.