This paper evaluates the Pugh Controlled Convergence method and its relationship to recent developments in design theory. Computer executable models are proposed simulating a team of people involved in iterated cycles of evaluation, ideation, and investigation. The models suggest that: 1)...

In optimal stopping problems, decision makers are assumed to search randomly to learn the utility of alternatives; in contrast, in one-shot multi-attribute utility optimization, decision makers are assumed to have perfect knowledge of utilities. We point out that these two contexts represent the...

Nudge and boost are two competing approaches to applying the psychology of reasoning and decision making to improve policy. Proponents of both the approaches claim capacity to enhance social welfare through better individual decisions. We question the validity of this claim. First, individual...