There is a certain romantic notion that we sometimes just know things in our gut. We equate this to wisdom or expertise. In truth, when your gut instinct turns out to be right, it is a result of the complicated system of decision-making your brain employs.<\/p>\n
NPS\u00aeychologist and ProfessorDaniel Kahneman<\/a>, winner of the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, explains why this is in his book, \u201cThinking Fast and Slow<\/a>\u201d. He describes two systems in our brain that explain our thought processes. He gave them the fictional names System 1 and System 2. These fictional depictions of our brain represent how we access information and how much energy we use to do so. System One:<\/strong> The Intuitive Thinking System. This system represents our automatic thinking, the intuition. This system facilitates the easy to access information the brain uses to interpret a situation.<\/p>\n System Two:<\/strong> The Rational Thinking System. Unlike System One, this system is more methodical and logical. It requires more energy and requires attention.<\/p>\n Kahneman explains that System One is at work when you look at a photo, interpreting the image, supplying you with your related personal experiences. It\u2019s fast and effortless. On the other hand, System Two emerges to take over when you are working on a math problem. It is deliberate, slow and requires both effort and concentration. These two systems work together in your brain, and each takes a share of the load of your thinking. Because it requires less effort than System Two thinking, you typically access your System One thinking more frequently than System Two. For this reason, Kahneman describes your System Two as \u201clazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Your intuition is your System One at work. The main function of your System one is to help you interpret your world and determine normalcy. As a result, it is always looking to connect situations to make a coherent interpretation. This connection is jumping to conclusions, or what we romantically refer to as \u201cyour Gut telling you something.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s up to System Two to come in and confirm these conclusions. However, since it is lazy, it doesn\u2019t. Your System Two is often content to let System One make its interpretation and state its findings as fact.<\/p>\n MinuteEarth illustrates how System One can jump to conclusions about the weather.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is Your Brain on Extreme Weather, By MinuteEarth<\/p>\n
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