Aug '24 (edited) • Books and Philosphy
Lessons from "Thinking Fast and Slow"
The book "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman illuminates what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to decision making and attention. The research he preformed over the entirety of his career earned him a Nobel Prize 2002. Now there is no way I can explain the Nobel winning research as expertly as Daniel himself, but I can simplify the material down to its most relevant parts for people with ADHD.
So far, from chapter 0(introduction)-3 the main premise is that within our brains are two agents. These agents are conveniently called System 1 and System 2. These two agents control the process of thought, decision making, and attention. System 1 is intuitive and fast-paced. It is that instant recall from memory thinking. It's where we draw the instant connections, like the capital of France.
If you instantly thought Paris after reading that last sentence, that was the agent, System 1.
System 2 is the slow, effortful thinking that requires attention and metabolic cost. To demonstrate when System 2 is active; take a minute or so and try and calculate 17x24.
For most people that calculating that was moderately difficult. Holding all that data in your working memory is very taxing on the brains attention. If you were driving and someone asked you to multiply 17x24 its very likely you couldn't even try. DO NOT TRY THIS. Big disclaimer there, it will not end well. For those wondering, 17x24=408. Using System 2 can literally eat up the brains resources causing a term called "ego drain". Where we use the absolute minimum amount of effort to solve problems instead of working through them. More on ego drain in a later post.
The importance of understanding the differences in these two agents can be extremely beneficial in recognizing poor judgement in ourselves, and in identifying what tasks will require more effortful thinking. As you are aware ADHD affects attention, by understanding the source of our pool of attention and what drains it the most we can make better, more informed decisions about our own lives.
Something you can start today: Try to notice the moments where System 2 takes control, when tasks or activities require more conscious, effortful thought. Those areas in your life are the most likely times you will encounter "flow." Later I will write about what exactly flow is, and the best ways to stimulate it in your own lives.
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Lessons from "Thinking Fast and Slow"
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