Jon Jachimowicz

Athlete, Change Agent, Connector, Consultant, Event planner, Foodie, Jewish, Student, Technologist

I'm a 24 year-old explorer, venturing the world for all of its beauty and interconnectedness. To me, the divisions we make between different academic disciplines are arbitrary, and while fostering great developments through specializations, often miss out on the true value of integrative research. I am driven to close this gap in the area I am interested in, working in the intersection between psychology, economics, management, public policy and neuroscience; some call this field 'behavioural economics', others 'decision-making' - for me, it is about a more holistic and positive outlook on the cognitive biases humans exhibit. From this perspective, crisis and problems appear in a new, different light, one that renders current approaches irrelevant and focuses on how to solve the major issues we are facing today differently, and ultimately, hopefully, better.

Persistence is what get things done at the end of the day. A powerful analogy for persistence is running, and the long runs I take through beautiful countryside is what gives me peace and motivation.

I would like to reform the way we approach problems. Instead of a rational approach to devising solutions, I believe it is far more necessary to look at the human element in decision-making. Thus, for example, in an ingenious research the Behavioural Insights Team carried out in the UK, it was found that the reason home owners did not want to insulate their houses was not lack of incentive, but the hassle involved in clearing the attic. Once this was offered in the service, insulation rates increased dramatically. In a similar vein is my idea, in which I propose to tackle antibiotics resistance. It is assumed that when given an antibiotics treatment, sick patients take the entire amount of pills. However, research shows that patients often stop taking the medication once they start feeling better. Instead of taking 12 uniform pills, I therefore propose to make the pills of different colours, and to add information and meaning to each colour in order to increase medication adherence.

Behavioural Change, Behavioural Design, Behavioural economics, Cognitive & Social Psychology, Decision-Making, Management, Neuroscience

I inherently believe in the strength of ideas to change the world. All it takes is the inception of an idea to alter the course of the world, and it is this power of the mind that I cherish each day. However, even the strongest and most innovative idea can not be put to any successful ends without enthusiastic supporters, who endorse the idea, and in turn make it their own. That's why I love TED, as a platform for ingenious people to spread messages to connectors and multipliers. Studying at one of the world's leading universities, I always had a strong drive to give students and academics around me the platform they needed to spread those great ideas they had to the world. That is why my friend Kian and I set up TEDxUniversityofStAndrews 2013, and we are delighted and looking forward to both our external speakers, as well as showcasing the best talent of our student body and academics that we have and to broadcast our potential and ideas to the world.

I used to be a competitive tennis player until the age of 17 when a career-ending injury stopped me from playing the finals of my state championship. To this day, racquet-sports are my natural talent.