---
# System prepended metadata

title: Thinking Fast and Slow • Linda Rising - GOTO 2019
tags: [brain, study, learning]

---

---
title: Thinking Fast and Slow • Linda Rising - GOTO 2019
disqus: pierodibello
---

###### tags: `learning` `study` `brain`

# Thinking Fast and Slow • Linda Rising • GOTO 2019

* [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjbTLIqnq-o)
* [Slides](https://submissions-production.s3.amazonaws.com/attachments/attachments/000/005/821/original/75%20minutes.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIKK35CR3V3P7N25A%2F20210628%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20210628T133745Z&X-Amz-Expires=600&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=f01bad24d81ff0fb039d25a69c23bc4dface2cf9900c80f746fdeb35a60546d0)


![](https://i.imgur.com/TEfVZlL.png)


## System1 
* it's the **unconscious**
* it's fast :runner: 
* it never sleeps
* intuition, gut feeling, irrational sense of something we should do
* multi-task
* it remembers everything!
* handles an enormous amount of data

---

* Use heuristics
* Has a collection of all the memories you've ever had

It is filled with cognitive biases, like

* confirmation bias
* cognitive dissonance
* naive realism

*cognitive bias*: we think we got the "truth" but that's a story System1 tells us so we feel ok.

It makes sense of what's going on in your experiences and explain it to you (stories) so that you feel ok, it tells a story, your personal story where you are the star of the show.
Those stories are filled with biases and heuristics... and we use those stories to make decisions 😔
It uses no logic, no evidence, no facts

:::warning
**System1 is not a good decision maker**
:::


It's flawed.
But contains all our memories and all we did.

## System2
* **conscious** mind
    * "paying attention"
    * go to sleep when we sleep and come online when we awake
* its' rational
* linear (cannot multi-task!)
    * you cannot do more than one thing at a time
    * mmmm... what about "walking and talking at the same time?": walking is not done by the conscious mind, but by the unconscious mind (system1)
    * learn how to drive: initially you have to control and check many things... when you learn, you do those stuff unconcsciouly
* it's slow :snail: 
* it's unable to process too many data :snail: 
* it consumes a lot of energy! :battery: 

![](https://i.imgur.com/BvOwHHd.png)


:::success
System2 is inadeguate! 
:::


---

:::info 
We use System2 to take decisions, but we can focus for max 50 minutes!
:::

![](https://i.imgur.com/uRfBWhZ.png)


:::info 
Learning is moving stuff from System2 to System1
:::

![](https://i.imgur.com/Hhy5T9z.png)

### Another model: the elephant metaphor

![](https://i.imgur.com/oHqsKVL.png)

The elephant is in charge!

* talk to the elephant
* willpower is another name for system2

### System1 makes most of our decisions

System2 thinks he's in charge, but System1 is in charge really.


## rule1 - don't waste the limited amount of energy of system2!

* 50 minutes is the limit for stay focus

## a problem-solving appoach

how to pass work to system1?

![](https://i.imgur.com/rqzM3Fs.png)


## when to use system2?

![](https://i.imgur.com/1i70rQx.png)

## do nothing

When we do "nothing", System1 kicks in
* creativity
* new ideas
* new connections
* insights

![](https://i.imgur.com/qHwt8MP.png)


## Key takeaways
* learn again to "just do nothing" (instead of grabbing the smartphone when we don't know what to do or are just bored)
    * system1 will kicks in and brings its power (creativity, insights, etc)
* if you cannot solve a problem in 10 minutes, just write it down, say it loud, then LEAVE IT (incubation) to hand it over to system1
* then, the next day => BINGO!
