Product Code Database
Amos Nathan Tversky (; March 16, 1937 – June 2, 1996) was an Israeli cognitive and mathematical psychologist and a key figure in the discovery of systematic human cognitive bias and handling of risk.
Much of his early work concerned the foundations of measurement. He was co-author of a three-volume treatise, Foundations of Measurement. His early work with Daniel Kahneman focused on the psychology of prediction and probability judgment; later they worked together to develop prospect theory, which aims to explain irrational human economic choices and is considered one of the seminal works of behavioral economics.
Six years after Tversky's death, Kahneman received the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for work he did in collaboration with Amos Tversky. While Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously, Kahneman has commented that he feels "it is a joint prize. We were twinned for more than a decade."
Tversky also collaborated with many leading researchers including Thomas Gilovich, Itamar Simonson, Paul Slovic and Richard Thaler. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Tversky as the 93rd most cited psychologist of the 20th century, tied with Edwin Boring, John Dewey, and Wilhelm Wundt.
Tversky's mother has said he was self-taught in many areas, including mathematics.Priceless: The Hidden Psychology of Value By William Poundstone In high school, Tversky took classes from literary critic Baruch Kurzweil, and befriended classmate Dahlia Ravikovich, who would become an award-winning poet.
Tversky received his bachelor's degree from Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel in 1961, and his doctorate in psychology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1965. He had already developed a clear vision of researching judgement.
Tversky served with distinction as a paratrooper, making over fifty jumps and eventually rising to the rank of captain. He was decorated for bravery after saving the life of one of his soldiers during a training exercise. In 1956, when Tversky was a platoon commander, his unit conducted a training exercise in front of the IDF General Staff. One of his soldiers was assigned to clear a barbed wire fence with a bangalore torpedo. After activating the fuse, the soldier suffered a panic attack and froze in place instead of running for cover. Ignoring the orders of his commanding officer for everyone to stay put, Tversky rushed from behind the wall that was serving as cover for his unit, picked up the soldier and hauled him ten yards, tossed him on the ground, and covered him with his body. Tversky was wounded by shrapnel from the explosion, which remained in his body for the rest of his life. The soldier he saved was unharmed. When handing him his decoration, IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan, who had witnessed the incident, told him "you did a very stupid and brave thing and you won’t get away with it again." Tversky participated in three wars. He parachuted into combat during the Suez Crisis in 1956, commanded an infantry unit during the Six-Day War in 1967, and served in a psychology field-unit during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
According to Kahneman the collaboration 'tapered off' in the early 1980s, although they tried to revive it. Factors included Tversky receiving most of the external credit for the output of the partnership, and a reduction in the generosity with which Tversky and Kahneman interacted with each other.Michael Lewis. "The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed the World". Penguin, 2016 (ISBN 9780141983035)
Tversky's 1974 Science article with Kahneman on cognitive illusions triggered a "cascade of related research," Science News wrote in a 1994 article tracing the recent history of research on reasoning. Decision theorists in economics, business, philosophy and medicine as well as psychologists cited their work.
In 1984 he was a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, and in 1985 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Tversky, as a co-recipient with Daniel Kahneman, earned the 2003 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology.
After Tversky's death, Kahneman was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for the work he did in collaboration with Tversky. Nobel prizes are not awarded posthumously.
Persi Diaconis, a professor of mathematics at Stanford, has said "You were happy being in his presence. There was a light shining out of him."
Gerhard Casper, President of Stanford University, said Tversky "maintained the highest standards of professional ethics", and "His dedication to Stanford and its institutions of faculty governance was exemplary."
Whilst being very collaborative, Tversky also had a lifelong habit of working alone at night while others slept.
In intellectual debate Tversky "wanted to crush the opposition".Kahnemnan, quoted in Michael Lewis, "The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed the World". Penguin, 2016 (ISBN 9780141983035)Tversky..." didn't have Danny's feeling that we should all think together and work together. He thought "F*** You". Walter Mischel, quoted in Michael Lewis, "The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed the World". Penguin, 2016 (ISBN 9780141983035)
Tversky believed that humans live under uncertainty, in a probabilistic universe." People live under uncertainty whether they like it or not..... Man is a deterministic device thrown into a probabilistic Universe. In this match, surprises are expected." Notes made by Tversky for a scientific paper. Michael Lewis. "The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed the World". Penguin, 2016 (ISBN 9780141983035).
He died of a metastatic melanoma in 1996.
He was a Jewish atheism.Engber, Daniel. "How a Pioneer in the Science of Mistakes Ended Up Mistaken". Slate Magazine, 21 December 2016. "It's a portrait of besotted opposites: Both Kahneman and Tversky were brilliant scientists, and atheist Israeli Jews...
|
|
