Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (2011), 499 pages

Really intriguing study detailing the nuts and bolts about "how" we think. The easiest way to visualize this is to imagine that there are two systems for processing thoughts in your brain--one that works fast and one that works...not so fast. System 1 is sort of automatic and operates quickly with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control. It's how we make intuitive decisions quickly. Think of the following problem:

5+5 = ?

You know the answer from experience and you didn't need to engage any sort of "back-end" brain functions. 

System 2 demands that your brain slows down to recall information or any steps to solving more complex or nuanced problems. Try to solve this problem in your head:

18,480 x 5,390 = ?

Your heart probably started beating faster and your eyes dilated. That's your system 2 kicking in. Your brain is recalling a whole host of steps and memories and processes for solving a problem like this. 

Both systems operate independently but tend to support each other over a range of activities, for example, emotions (system 1) are crucial in adopting logical reasoning (system 2). The main function of System 1 is to maintain and update a model of your personal world, which represents what is normal in it. System 2 focuses on choice and concentration. Kahneman also details some of the most recent research in heuristics and decision-making. A deep-dive of a book that offers an important perspective into how human being really operate and why.