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In my experience, I've found that a much quicker test of ethics is using the incredibly powerful subconscious tool that we have evolved with (called our brain)

In my experience, I've found that a much quicker test of ethics is using the incredibly powerful subconscious tool that we have evolved with (called our brain) I'm a little shocked to hear such a remark coming from you. You've historically been thoughtful. I can understand if you're just having a bad day, but there's nothing that could possibly be gained by talking down to someone like that. which allows us to make pretty quick decisions about issues of right and wrong Also, this second half is just nonsense. If you believe you're thinking for yourself, but your decisions about ethics are always quick, then you probably aren't. You're probably letting society's moral fashions determine your belief system for you.

swombat 13y ago
Re: "called our brain" - that was not actually meant to be an insult, but I can see how it could be read like that. I'll go and edit that out, as that was not the intention. Re: thinking methods - analytical thinking is not the only way to think effectively. Logic has its limits. I am loathe to shift the discussion to a meta-argument about thinking approaches. But here goes... It has been my experience that intuitive thinking can arrive at useful conclusions faster than analytical thinking. It is in fact the way that most people function (though I'm not defending it as a general approach) - by jumping to a conclusion and then rationalising it. However, in some cases, this intuitive thinking (described but not fully discussed in "Blink") can be useful. Blink itself gives a number of examples where it works. In my own experience, the areas where it is most effective are: - ethics: whilst I have on occasion changed my mind from my initial intuitive ethical stand, that has been rare and usually involved a shift in fundamental assumptions and world view, not just an argument. - judging people: in hiring, in particular, the few times I have hired someone that I didn't get a good feeling from almost instantly, I have regretted it. Same for dating and other people interactions. - business risk: while a good feeling is not sufficient to make a decision, getting a bad gut feeling about a business decision seems (across many successful entrepreneurs) to be a very good reason to pull out of a deal or other situation immediately without further discussion. I've certainly seen that in my experience too. There are other contexts - and also contexts where this kind of thinking definitely doesn't work, like relationships, for example, which are way too emotionally charged - but I think this will do for an HN comment.

swombat 13y ago

Re: "called our brain" - that was not actually meant to be an insult, but I can see how it could be read like that. I'll go and edit that out, as that was not the intention. Re: thinking methods - analytical thinking is not the only way to think effectively. Logic has its limits. I am loathe to shift the discussion to a meta-argument about thinking approaches. But here goes... It has been my experience that intuitive thinking can arrive at useful conclusions faster than analytical thinking. It is in fact the way that most people function (though I'm not defending it as a general approach) - by jumping to a conclusion and then rationalising it. However, in some cases, this intuitive thinking (described but not fully discussed in "Blink") can be useful. Blink itself gives a number of examples where it works. In my own experience, the areas where it is most effective are: - ethics: whilst I have on occasion changed my mind from my initial intuitive ethical stand, that has been rare and usually involved a shift in fundamental assumptions and world view, not just an argument. - judging people: in hiring, in particular, the few times I have hired someone that I didn't get a good feeling from almost instantly, I have regretted it. Same for dating and other people interactions. - business risk: while a good feeling is not sufficient to make a decision, getting a bad gut feeling about a business decision seems (across many successful entrepreneurs) to be a very good reason to pull out of a deal or other situation immediately without further discussion. I've certainly seen that in my experience too. There are other contexts - and also contexts where this kind of thinking definitely doesn't work, like relationships, for example, which are way too emotionally charged - but I think this will do for an HN comment.