Let’s also try the converse problem: what cues tip you off, in real life, that you are actually thinking, and that there is actually something you’re trying to figure out? Please stick such cues under this comment.
Cue of not rationalizing: I find myself thinking new thoughts, hearing new ideas (if talking to someone else), and making updates I’m interested in—even if they aren’t about the specific decision I’m trying to make. The experience feels like walking through a forest looking around, and being pleasantly surprised by parts of my surroundings (“oh! maybe that is why clothes with buttons and folds and detail are more fashionable”).
Cue of not rationalizing: I feel smart. I feel like many different parts of my brain are all engaged on the question at hand. It feels like what I’m saying could be turned into mathematics or a computer program.
Cue for actual thinking: I spontaneously produce lines of research, not lines of argumentation. I feel relief when I can classify a problem as “already decided by empirical data” and I begin to seek that data out.
Cue of not rationalizing: I am picturing the two possible outcomes (from deciding correctly/incorrectly), feel fear (lest I end up with the bad outcome), and find my attention spontaneously on the considerations that seem as though they’ll actually help with that.
Cure of not rationalizing: I feel confident that I’m not rationalizing. If I feel uncertain about whether or not I’m rationalizing then it can go either way and it’s a sign I should be on guard, but if I don’t feel any note of self-deception then that’s normally pretty strong evidence that I’m not rationalizing. I’m not sure if this would be true for others; I’ve definitely seen people who claimed they felt that they were not rationalizing blatantly rationalizing.
Let’s also try the converse problem: what cues tip you off, in real life, that you are actually thinking, and that there is actually something you’re trying to figure out? Please stick such cues under this comment.
Cue of not rationalizing: I feel curious—a chasing, seeking, engaged feeling, like a cat chasing a mouse.
Cue of not rationalizing: I find myself thinking new thoughts, hearing new ideas (if talking to someone else), and making updates I’m interested in—even if they aren’t about the specific decision I’m trying to make. The experience feels like walking through a forest looking around, and being pleasantly surprised by parts of my surroundings (“oh! maybe that is why clothes with buttons and folds and detail are more fashionable”).
Cue of not rationalizing: I feel smart. I feel like many different parts of my brain are all engaged on the question at hand. It feels like what I’m saying could be turned into mathematics or a computer program.
Cue of not rationalizing: I don’t know what conclusion I’ll come to.
Cue for actual thinking: I spontaneously produce lines of research, not lines of argumentation. I feel relief when I can classify a problem as “already decided by empirical data” and I begin to seek that data out.
Cue of not rationalizing: I am picturing the two possible outcomes (from deciding correctly/incorrectly), feel fear (lest I end up with the bad outcome), and find my attention spontaneously on the considerations that seem as though they’ll actually help with that.
Cure of not rationalizing: I feel confident that I’m not rationalizing. If I feel uncertain about whether or not I’m rationalizing then it can go either way and it’s a sign I should be on guard, but if I don’t feel any note of self-deception then that’s normally pretty strong evidence that I’m not rationalizing. I’m not sure if this would be true for others; I’ve definitely seen people who claimed they felt that they were not rationalizing blatantly rationalizing.