Your article feels too abstract to really engage the reader. I would start with a surprise element (ok, you do this to some extent); have at least one practical anecdote; include concrete and practical conclusions (what life lessons follow from what the reader has learned?).
Worse, I feel that your article might in fact lead to several misconceptions about dual process theory. (At least some of the stuff does not match with my own beliefs. Should I update?)
First, you make a link between System 1 and emotions. But System 1 is still a cognitive system. It’s heavily informed by emotions, but does not correspond to emotions. Also, there has never been doubt that human thinking tends to be seriously emotionally biased. The surprising contribution of Kahneman was exactly to show that many (most?) judgment errors come from cognitive biases.
Also, your article makes it sound that System 1 is the one responsible for producing bias (“the autopilot system is prone to make errors”), while in fact System 2 is equally susceptible to biased thinking. (Biases are just heuristics, after all—there is nothing inherently irrational about them.)
Second, Kahneman himself stresses that the dual system theory is merely a useful fiction. So I would be wary of including the neuroscientific stuff. These conclusions are order of magnitude less solid than the dual system theory itself. Anyway, why is the localization of the systems in the brain, or the evolutionary recentness of prefrontal cortex even relevant to this article? Don’t try to prop up the credibility of your account by including random scientific facts. You’ll lose in the long term.
(Caveat—I’m not a LW regular, so most of my knowledge about dual process theory comes directly from Kahneman’s book.)
Appreciate the feedback. I thought I provided concrete examples of life lessons in the article, namely “If we know about how our minds work, we can be intentional about influencing our own thinking and feeling patterns. We can evaluate reality more clearly, make better decisions, and improve our ability to achieve goals, thus gaining greater agency.” Are you suggesting some more specific lessons? If so, can you give some examples of what you mean?
Agreed on dual process theory being a useful heuristic. So are most ways of thinking about the brain :-) Here is a more complex piece I wrote on this topic, let me know your thoughts about it.
I’m confused by your criticism of my linkage of System 1 to emotions. You say you got most of your knowledge of dual process theory from Kahneman’s book. Kahneman’s book states, and I quote, “System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional”—it is even described this way on the publisher’s website, making it clear that this framing is a key component of what Kahneman sought to convey. So can you clarify why you have an issue with me making a link between System 1 and emotions, when Kahneman himself stated this.
Your article feels too abstract to really engage the reader. I would start with a surprise element (ok, you do this to some extent); have at least one practical anecdote; include concrete and practical conclusions (what life lessons follow from what the reader has learned?).
Worse, I feel that your article might in fact lead to several misconceptions about dual process theory. (At least some of the stuff does not match with my own beliefs. Should I update?)
First, you make a link between System 1 and emotions. But System 1 is still a cognitive system. It’s heavily informed by emotions, but does not correspond to emotions. Also, there has never been doubt that human thinking tends to be seriously emotionally biased. The surprising contribution of Kahneman was exactly to show that many (most?) judgment errors come from cognitive biases.
Also, your article makes it sound that System 1 is the one responsible for producing bias (“the autopilot system is prone to make errors”), while in fact System 2 is equally susceptible to biased thinking. (Biases are just heuristics, after all—there is nothing inherently irrational about them.)
Second, Kahneman himself stresses that the dual system theory is merely a useful fiction. So I would be wary of including the neuroscientific stuff. These conclusions are order of magnitude less solid than the dual system theory itself. Anyway, why is the localization of the systems in the brain, or the evolutionary recentness of prefrontal cortex even relevant to this article? Don’t try to prop up the credibility of your account by including random scientific facts. You’ll lose in the long term.
(Caveat—I’m not a LW regular, so most of my knowledge about dual process theory comes directly from Kahneman’s book.)
Appreciate the feedback. I thought I provided concrete examples of life lessons in the article, namely “If we know about how our minds work, we can be intentional about influencing our own thinking and feeling patterns. We can evaluate reality more clearly, make better decisions, and improve our ability to achieve goals, thus gaining greater agency.” Are you suggesting some more specific lessons? If so, can you give some examples of what you mean?
Agreed on dual process theory being a useful heuristic. So are most ways of thinking about the brain :-) Here is a more complex piece I wrote on this topic, let me know your thoughts about it.
I’m confused by your criticism of my linkage of System 1 to emotions. You say you got most of your knowledge of dual process theory from Kahneman’s book. Kahneman’s book states, and I quote, “System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional”—it is even described this way on the publisher’s website, making it clear that this framing is a key component of what Kahneman sought to convey. So can you clarify why you have an issue with me making a link between System 1 and emotions, when Kahneman himself stated this.