"Essentially, if you think too much, you cut off your mind from the wisdom of your feelings. This may sound a little esoteric – and a bit surprising coming from someone like me who strives to rid my thinking of irrationality – but it is not. **Emotions form in the brain, just as crystal-clear, rational thoughts do. They are merely a different form of information processing – more primordial, but not necessarily an inferior variant. In fact, sometimes they provide the wiser counsel**. “This raises the question: **when do you listen to your head and when do you heed your gut?** A rule of thumb might be: **if it is something to do with practised activities, such as motor skills** (think of the centipede, [[Van de Velde]] or mastering a musical instrument), or **questions you’ve answered a thousand times** (think of Warren Buffett’s ‘circle of competence’), it’s **better not to reflect to the last detail**. It undermines your intuitive ability to solve problems. The same applies to decisions that our Stone Age ancestors faced — evaluating what was edible, who would make good friends, whom to trust. For such purposes, we have heuristics, mental shortcuts that are clearly superior to rational thought. **With complex matters, though, such as investment decisions, sober reflection is indispensable**. Evolution has not equipped us for such considerations, so logic trumps intuition.” --- **Tags** — [[quotes]], [[emotions]], [[type-one-thinking]], [[overthinking]], [[action-bias]], [[information-bias]], **Source** — [[202308101525 — B — The Art of Thinking Clearly]]