Copilot Designer's illustration of 'satisficing' Satisficing is a portmanteau word coined by Nobel Prize-winning American economist and political scientist. He combined the words ‘satisfy’ and ‘suffice’ into one to describe the human tendency to make a decision that is ‘good enough’ rather than one that is necessarily optimal. Take an example to understand the notion better. Suppose A is searching for his life partner at a matrimonial site. There are so many potential brides who all look good enough. But if A goes on to find the best among them, the one that suits all his criteria and tastes, he will remain a bachelor till death. So what does A do? He satisfices by choosing one that meets his minimum acceptable criteria. When the ruling BJP decided to project Smriti Irani as the next chief minister candidate for Delhi, Herbert Simon forced himself into my consciousness. Smriti Irani lost in the last parliament election to Congress’s Kishori Lal. The margin was a...
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