[extropy-chat] Rational thinking was Movie review- (2)

[BillK]

On 11/28/06, Keith Henson wrote:
> Like everyone on this list, I value rational thoughts.  But it is obvious
> this is a minority viewpoint for the population in general.
>
> Why?
>
> Can anyone answer this from an evolutionary psychology point of view?
>

It is explained quite nicely in the Time Magazine article on risk
assessment recently posted by p j manney.

Quotes:

Part of the problem we have with evaluating risk, scientists say, is
that we're moving through the modern world with what is, in many
respects, a prehistoric brain. We may think we've grown accustomed to
living in a predator-free environment in which most of the dangers of
the wild have been driven away or fenced off, but our central nervous
system--evolving at a glacial pace--hasn't got the message.

"There are two systems for analyzing risk: an automatic, intuitive
system and a more thoughtful analysis," says Paul Slovic, professor of
psychology at the University of Oregon. "Our perception of risk lives
largely in our feelings, so most of the time we're operating on system
No. 1."

--------------

The article goes into much more detail about how rational thinking is
rarely allowed to apply to the dangers of modern life.


BillK