Decisions Part I: the Reptile and the Calculator

Modern science has just begun to scratch the surface on the most complex organ in our body, the human brain.   I don't pretend to understand any of the science, but I have read enough to have a broken understanding....enough to be dangerous, you might say.  

These are some of my thoughts based on that, admittedly, weak understanding of but a scratch upon the surface.

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At a high level, the way we make decisions in the mind are swayed by two major factors.   
The first is the Reptilian Complex (R-Complex) which is the basis for fight or flight style reactions.  This is the part of our brain design that we share with the reptiles and is the what kicks in when we are in a rage or just need to make decisions faster than contemplative thought would allow.  It's also the part of the brain that makes us creatures of habit - it's what gets us home on those trips over familiar territory where you don't even remember doing the driving.   We use this part of the mind when playing a sport, which is the reason 'overthinking' a play is dangerous to an athlete, and people actually make a living as a sports psychologist.    

The second factor is what I'll call the Calculator, the logical part of the mind (technically the neo-mammalian complex), which is something unique to humans.  This is what makes us '(WO)MAN' - rational beings that have language, philosophy and the ability to plan ahead.   This is why humans have farms and catch fish, rather then eat only seeds and worms.

Conventional wisdom tells us that, if there is time to use it, the calculator would always provide the best answer, but this is not the case.   In fact, the Reptile often makes better decisions even in what would be considered Calculator territory.   Many times, the Reptile is forced to make decisions, because the Calculator gets overloaded.

Our rational brain is actually quite limited.   It has an easy time making a purchase when the product is the same and the price, alone, differs.    It gets lost when the decision has more than just a handful of variables.   Buying a car, with the myriad of options, is an example.  The shear number of factors: horsepower, color, body style, dealer support, overall quality, safety features, gas mileage, all varying between models, flusters the purely rational process.

Decisions made by instinct - the Reptile - are not only better, in many cases where you might not expect it, but are also not as prone to second guessing.   This is because you can't re-evaluate the numbers if the decision was by instinct.    For example, when you make the decision to purchase the car purely by weighting the numbers (gas mileage, safety features, size, etc), changing one variable after the fact ("I wish the vehicle had more room inside") throws the whole weighting system off track.  Alternatively, try choosing a restaurant by a vote rather then instinct, and see which generally produces the best outcome (adjusting for service & experience, it will be the one chosen on a whim - instinct).  We just tend to be happier with our choices if it's done by instinct, so long as the decision doesn't defy logical bounds, as many mortgages did during the last decade.

What needs to be added is that the Reptile works only if it has been trained.    Training is only achieved through repetition, so athlete's train constantly.   A hockey player will shoot on a goalie, in practice, countless times.  At game time that player's shots aren't through deliberate mathematical calculations on the best strategy and trajectory to get past the goalie --- it's purely instinct.   The pathways of the mind which make these instinctual decisions are refined by practice.

The actual decision is made in the pre-frontal cortex.   This area of the brain serves as a switching station for the Reptile and the Calculator, along with weighing other factors, such as the moral & social aspects of the actions.   This is the part of the brain that gives us our personality.   It is also the place that was detached in the procedure known as a Labotomy, in a primitive effort to 'cure' many psychotic conditions.

The question then is what steps can be taken to train ourselves and our children how to make better decisions.   The simple answer is training and learning to trust the Reptile, while tempering it with reason.   I have thoughts about these things, but will save them for another post.

(See Malcom Gladwell's Blink or Jonah Lehrer's How We Decide for many other excellent examples & more depth)