Christian Morel studied absurd decisions.
These are defined as drastic and persistent mistakes. Those who make
them act contrary to the desired aim, in a variety of areas. Examples
are inexplicable pilot or navigation errors in aeroplanes
or boats, managerial actions which are totally contradictory to the
intended objective, senseless decisions in matters of joint ownership,
and so on. Cases are studied from three perspectives : the cognitive
interpretation which stresses basic errors of logic ; the collective
explanation which casts light on systems of interaction which give the
protagonists no choice other than an absurd solution ; and finally,
the teleological explanation which shows the senselessness at
different stages of the action. According to Christian Morel, the most
surprising finding of all is the great level of social tolerance
observed with regard to absurd decisions !