I recently read The Decisive Moment (alt title: How We Decide), which has been in my unread pile for quite a while. Right now, I'm reading Thinking, Fast and Slow, which contains a lot of the original work that The Decisive Moment is based on. Both books are about how we think.
Lehrer (author of The Decisive Moment) labels the two systems 'instinct' and 'analysis'. Kahneman labels them 'system 1' and 'system 2'. Both use the following question to illustrate the two systems;
Lehrer (author of The Decisive Moment) labels the two systems 'instinct' and 'analysis'. Kahneman labels them 'system 1' and 'system 2'. Both use the following question to illustrate the two systems;
The price of a bat and a ball together is £110. The bat costs £100 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
The part of you that said the ball costs £10 is instinct, system 1. The part that worked out that the correct answer is £5 is system 2, analysis.
I include that question not to illustrate that instinct is always wrong (it isn't; try catching a ball using analysis) but because you can feel the two systems working.
System 2/analysis normally takes more effort. Your pupils dilate, and your heart-rate speeds up very slightly. Kahneman mentions that, if asked to calculate something like 17 x 24 while walking, you will most likely stop walking. I've also noticed another of his observations myself; that it is very difficult to be in a state of physical exertion and to think complicated thoughts at the same time. That's what I like about running (during the relatively few moments when I do like running). It is a welcome respite from thinking.
Kahneman also talks about flow, which is when you're performing an activity that would normally use system 2/analysis, but you're in a state where it feels effortless. You know that feeling when you get really into something? Like when you're drawing, and the entire world disappears? I get it when I draw sometimes, during tests, and, sometimes, when reading.
It was only relatively recently that I realised that reading takes effort for most people. It was, really, when I read this article, on how to read fifty-two books in a year.
...seriously? People need a guide on how to read a book a week? They think that's a big number? This was news to me. He also describes a lot of things that I'm in the habit of doing, like reading while commuting (I don't have a commute right now, but whenever I travel). What do people do if they don't read while travelling? Sure, I don't read sometimes. I listen to music or podcasts, or stare out of the window and switch off, every so often. But I read most of the time, while travelling. How do people not die of boredom otherwise? This honestly baffles me.
He also talks about using every minute to read. I typically read a lot in queues. It's a lot easier with an eReader, especially since my Kobo mini fits easily in my pocket. Whip it out, read a few pages, queues are no longer boring. I also read while I brush my teeth. My electric toothbrush only needs one hand, and the Kobo only needs the occasional tap. Paperbacks are trickier, but totally possible.
I don't force myself to do these things, and I don't have an end goal (most of the time). I just like reading, want to find out what happens next and/or it's the easiest way for me to deal with dead time, like travelling or waiting. I don't know what else to do with that time.
As I said, I am often in a state of flow while reading. It doesn't take me any effort. It was a bit of a realisation for me that it does take effort, for a lot of people.
That said, sometimes I'm not always in a state of flow. Then, I automatically do what he suggests, for instance, dividing a book into pages. I'll read until I hit fifty, or until I'm a quarter of the way through, or a third, or a half, or three quarters, and so on. It's kind of like counting sheep to fall asleep, making yourself read until you hit a state of flow. You know that state is there, ready for you to fall into; you just fake it till you make it.
I've been doing that more this month, since I have that goal of getting my unread pile down to one hundred and fifty. It's paying off. So many of these books I wouldn't have gotten round to, if I'd left it totally up to system 1, and the payoff has been worth it. The Decisive Moment, for instance, or Atonement. Atonement brought up lots of feelings, and I don't want to say that I enjoyed it, or liked it, because those feelings weren't all happy. But it was interesting. I'm glad I got round to reading The Catcher in the Rye, even though I didn't really connect with it. It's one of those books that's nice to have read, you know?
Anyway, Thinking, Fast and Slow is due back at the library today, so I should probably go finish it.
I include that question not to illustrate that instinct is always wrong (it isn't; try catching a ball using analysis) but because you can feel the two systems working.
System 2/analysis normally takes more effort. Your pupils dilate, and your heart-rate speeds up very slightly. Kahneman mentions that, if asked to calculate something like 17 x 24 while walking, you will most likely stop walking. I've also noticed another of his observations myself; that it is very difficult to be in a state of physical exertion and to think complicated thoughts at the same time. That's what I like about running (during the relatively few moments when I do like running). It is a welcome respite from thinking.
Kahneman also talks about flow, which is when you're performing an activity that would normally use system 2/analysis, but you're in a state where it feels effortless. You know that feeling when you get really into something? Like when you're drawing, and the entire world disappears? I get it when I draw sometimes, during tests, and, sometimes, when reading.
It was only relatively recently that I realised that reading takes effort for most people. It was, really, when I read this article, on how to read fifty-two books in a year.
...seriously? People need a guide on how to read a book a week? They think that's a big number? This was news to me. He also describes a lot of things that I'm in the habit of doing, like reading while commuting (I don't have a commute right now, but whenever I travel). What do people do if they don't read while travelling? Sure, I don't read sometimes. I listen to music or podcasts, or stare out of the window and switch off, every so often. But I read most of the time, while travelling. How do people not die of boredom otherwise? This honestly baffles me.
He also talks about using every minute to read. I typically read a lot in queues. It's a lot easier with an eReader, especially since my Kobo mini fits easily in my pocket. Whip it out, read a few pages, queues are no longer boring. I also read while I brush my teeth. My electric toothbrush only needs one hand, and the Kobo only needs the occasional tap. Paperbacks are trickier, but totally possible.
I don't force myself to do these things, and I don't have an end goal (most of the time). I just like reading, want to find out what happens next and/or it's the easiest way for me to deal with dead time, like travelling or waiting. I don't know what else to do with that time.
As I said, I am often in a state of flow while reading. It doesn't take me any effort. It was a bit of a realisation for me that it does take effort, for a lot of people.
That said, sometimes I'm not always in a state of flow. Then, I automatically do what he suggests, for instance, dividing a book into pages. I'll read until I hit fifty, or until I'm a quarter of the way through, or a third, or a half, or three quarters, and so on. It's kind of like counting sheep to fall asleep, making yourself read until you hit a state of flow. You know that state is there, ready for you to fall into; you just fake it till you make it.
I've been doing that more this month, since I have that goal of getting my unread pile down to one hundred and fifty. It's paying off. So many of these books I wouldn't have gotten round to, if I'd left it totally up to system 1, and the payoff has been worth it. The Decisive Moment, for instance, or Atonement. Atonement brought up lots of feelings, and I don't want to say that I enjoyed it, or liked it, because those feelings weren't all happy. But it was interesting. I'm glad I got round to reading The Catcher in the Rye, even though I didn't really connect with it. It's one of those books that's nice to have read, you know?
Anyway, Thinking, Fast and Slow is due back at the library today, so I should probably go finish it.
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