Thinking Fast and Slow

We have 2 modes of thinking...

Fast Thinking Slow Thinking
Type 1/System 1 Type 2/System 2
Implicit Explicit
Heuristic Systematic
Automatic Controlled
Intuition Reasoned

1. Fast Thinking

Few attributes of system 1...

  • Skill is System 1. Eg. driving.
  • This is driven by Pattern recognition
  • You can create better intuitions if you have fast feedback loops. This is one way to "train" system one better(but system 1 training is unreliable)
  • There can be false intuitions - that are indistinguishable from expert intuitions(this is why system 1 is unreliable).
  • We might not be aware of changes system 1 makes in our decision making process.
  • Tries to create associativity coherent interpretations of the situation.

System 1 works thru associative memory. If one or few nodes in the associative memory network get triggered, it will spread the activation to other nodes as well. Negative triggers need lesser force to active the network - because evolution wants us to be prepared.

Once this associative network has been activated, the system looks for causes.

System 1 uses our memory history to create these interpretations - and it will update our memory history. If we encounter any surprise, the brain will hand over to system 2.

If the stimulus is hard to understand, brain might switch to system 2. Eg. question in a bad font.

System 1 can return false conclusions with high confidence. This can be due to...

  • Substitution: if a conclusion requires effort - but there is an easy related conclusion available to us, we'll use the easy one. We will not be aware of it.
  • Subjunctive confidence comes from system 1. If interpretation is coherent, probability assigned will be high.
  • Many more.

AI works with this system.

Fast Thinking Exploits can be used to attack this system.

2. Slow thinking

This requires deliberate effort - and there are physiological changes in slow thinking - eg. our pupils dilate in this mode.

Links to this note

Fast Thinking Exploits

People make different decisions if they pause and think about the decision vs when they react immediately. System 1 is way more vulnerable to exploits. Addictive apps exploit this vulnerability by making the nex

Chunking

When you can store a bunch of information in your working memory as one unit. Eg. 2,0,1,9 is four numbers - but 2019 is chunked into one recent year. You can hold more information if you can chunk it up. Education should give you lots of c

Intuition in Philosophy

Intuition in philosophy is "an indirect way to grasp knowledge and morality". You intuitively know if an action is right or wrong - even though you can't work out why. Intuition is, basically, system 1 thinking.

Thinking Fast and Slow, Blinkist

Summary of the Thinking Fast and Slow book. Does not cover the things mentioned in the other note. Heuristics Mental shortcuts to immediately make conclusions. Availability Heuristic You overestimate the probability of somet

Availability Heuristic

You overestimate the probability of something that you hear more often/remember easily. Eg. We think accidents kill more people than strokes. Cause The availability heuristic operates on the notion that if something can be recalled,

Substitution Heuristic

We substitute the actual question with an easier to answer question. Eg. "Will this man be a good secretary" becomes "Does this man fit my mental idea of a good secretary?" It is a System 1 mental shortcut.

Focus Difference in System 1 and System 2

When we encounter an easy problem we are relaxed/not focused. In this mode, the System 1 thinking is strengthened and system 2 weakened. When we are in this state, we will be more creative and intuitive. But we a

Creativity comes from internalized knowledge

Creativity and problem solving is better when you have internalized knowledge about the problem domain. This helps you make quick connections, try multiple combinations, see patterns and intuit answers. Uses the [[Thinking Fast and Slow|F

Initial Impressions

Initial impression about something can be misleading. If its a problem you have seen multiple times in the past, your fast thinking system will give you an answer that is reliable. But often enough, it will giv

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Published on: Jul 28, 2021

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