Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I've learned that short-term thinking is at the root of most of our problems Greedy (aka "short-term thinking") algorithms provide optimal solutions for many (but not all (obviously)) problems.
It sounds like you've missed the point - yes the optimal solution short term might be one action, but sometimes losing in the short term is more optimal in the long term. Like say, a vote for socialism reduces a companies profits but retains the humanity of government in the long term (made up example obv.). Moreover, long term solutions encompass the solution space of short term ones - so if short term thinking is r…
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greedy_algorithm
The point being is that even a short-term thinking may yield long-term benefits sometimes.