Gautam Ghosh

In this age of “information overload,” our minds are constantly being hit with data, from the news in the morning to all the alerts on our phones. Our brain, an evolutionary marvel, tries to be as efficient as possible by processing information at the speed of light. In our haste to streamline, we often take mental shortcuts that lead to cognitive biases that affect how we do decision making without us realizing it. These biases can help us sometimes, but they can also lead us astray, clouding our judgment and taking us away from objective thinking. These mental tendencies aren’t just oddities; they’re strong forces that affect how we think, what we do, and how we connect with others. Realizing their power is the first thing we can do to protect ourselves from being led astray by them.

Among the many complex ways that people think, decision-making is one of the most interesting. Two important forces are at the center of this process: feeling and logic. These forces have been the subject of philosophical arguments, scientific investigations, and everyday thoughts for as long as people can think. People often wrap their intuition in mystery. Intuition is the world of gut feelings and automatic reactions. That quiet push, that whisper from the subconscious, leads us down a certain road. On the other hand, logic is an organized and analytical powerhouse.