the Nobel Prize for his work in behavioral economics. Kahneman is a jargon-adverse explainer, an excellent writer, a great story-teller, and, to judge by his book, a good guy. He has spent a lifetime thinking about thinking. There are two ways of thinking. They are – as you may have gathered from intuition or analysis – intuitive (“fast”) and analytical (“slow”). Intuitive thinking is basically not thinking at all, as in “I did it without thinking.” That’s fine when returning a 100-mph tennis serve to just inside the baseline, but not when leaving the standing rib roast on the edge of the kitchen counter within reach of the dog. Analytical thinking is what we do when we solve complex problems. Very few high school
students pass algebra by just having a hunch about “X.” But you can over-analyze things, such going to the bathroom. Flush toilets are a type of plumbing fixture and usually incorporate an “S,” “U,” “J,” or “P” shaped bend called a trap that causes water to collect in the toilet bowl and act as a seal against noxious gases. Most flush toilets are connected to a sewerage system... That’s the “flush toilet” Wikipedia entry, and the Grump has a hunch the guy who wrote it didn’t make it to the toilet in time and wet his pants. Intuitive thinking works best when we possess expertise in what we do. This is why we can drive and chew gum at the same time. This is also why the body-and-fender man found all the gum wrappers in the Grump’s teenage daughter’s wrecked car. Analytical thinking works best when we don’t know what we’re talking about and stop talking and go find out. Kahneman is a genius on the subject of intuitive and analytical thinking – he must be. He talks about the difference between the two for 500 pages without making the Grump want to go over to Princeton and stick a sock in his mouth. And genius is – sorry, Angela Duckworth – another secret to success. But getting it is a matter of choosing your parents, not choosing a book from the New York Times Business Books best-seller list. – TBG
Analytical thinking works best when we don’t know what we’re talking about and stop talking and go find out.
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