usatoday.com— The evidence has been piling up throughout history, and now neuroscientists have proved it's true: The brain's wiring emphatically relies on emotion over intellect in decision-making.
Aug 6, 2006View in Crawl 4
I think a lot of us knew that already, but it's interesting to see scientific evidence for the Wizard's Third Rule :)("Passion rules reason", for those who haven't read Goodkind's novels)
Doctor: You see sir these dark spots, they are cancer and you have 6 months to live.Whoatemydigg: I don't think so you quack where did you get your degree from cracker jacks! Those are just spots and don't mean nothing!
First, and most importantly, personal emotional management is a hallmark of maturity. To that, when faced with a difficult decision I try to look at it this way:Which way is easier, faster and/or sucks the least? Once I've identified that...I choose the other. So, generally, I go with the one that sucks the most. It's kind of like a macro version of eat your vegetables. Some call it self discipline, but really that's such a nebulous concept I felt the need to more specifically define it for myself.Obviously it's situational and a personal strategy at best, but it's worked for me. Over time I've seen my decisions pay off more when I chose the harder, "suckiest" path, and I mean in big things like relationships(stay or go), real-estate (stay or go), job (stay or go), etc. I could also be fooling myself. I'll let you know when I'm dead. As a side note, I found when I used my negative emotions, such as fear, to help me identify which decision elicits the strongest response, I had more information to work with. Given that, I was able to make a better decision in the long run.My motto: If a decision is difficult, you don't have enough information.Now I'm going to get a cup of decaf coffee and see if someone stole my Lean Cuisine from the fridge. *sigh*
At first I thought that this study is stating the obvious. But its more of a confirmation than anything else, the obvious things might be correct unless proofen otherwise.
elnerdoAug 7, 2006
I've always viewed emotions as the 'machine code' of the brain. Everything you think boils down to raw emotion at some point.
mohrrAug 7, 2006
"To hunt a species to extinction is not logical.""Whoever said the human race was logical?"
drinkgreenAug 7, 2006
so anger, greed, revenge, jealousy aren't the primary factors of alot of crimes?Crimes of Passion anyone?
Closed AccountAug 8, 2006
People aren't rational animals. They are animals with the capacity to be rational for limited periods of time
Closed AccountAug 8, 2006
There is no emoticon to describe how I am feeling!
metasquaresAug 8, 2006
I think a lot of us knew that already, but it's interesting to see scientific evidence for the Wizard's Third Rule :)("Passion rules reason", for those who haven't read Goodkind's novels)
thekilldoctorAug 8, 2006
Doctor: You see sir these dark spots, they are cancer and you have 6 months to live.Whoatemydigg: I don't think so you quack where did you get your degree from cracker jacks! Those are just spots and don't mean nothing!
hoopersAug 8, 2006
First, and most importantly, personal emotional management is a hallmark of maturity. To that, when faced with a difficult decision I try to look at it this way:Which way is easier, faster and/or sucks the least? Once I've identified that...I choose the other. So, generally, I go with the one that sucks the most. It's kind of like a macro version of eat your vegetables. Some call it self discipline, but really that's such a nebulous concept I felt the need to more specifically define it for myself.Obviously it's situational and a personal strategy at best, but it's worked for me. Over time I've seen my decisions pay off more when I chose the harder, "suckiest" path, and I mean in big things like relationships(stay or go), real-estate (stay or go), job (stay or go), etc. I could also be fooling myself. I'll let you know when I'm dead. As a side note, I found when I used my negative emotions, such as fear, to help me identify which decision elicits the strongest response, I had more information to work with. Given that, I was able to make a better decision in the long run.My motto: If a decision is difficult, you don't have enough information.Now I'm going to get a cup of decaf coffee and see if someone stole my Lean Cuisine from the fridge. *sigh*
ngnrAug 8, 2006
At first I thought that this study is stating the obvious. But its more of a confirmation than anything else, the obvious things might be correct unless proofen otherwise.
Closed AccountAug 11, 2006
Before a baby can talk, how does it think and make decisions? Using pure emotion.