Intelligence does not free us from making mistakes. In fact, some of our failures arise from mental mechanisms that are useful most of the time.
To decide quickly, the brain uses heuristics: simple rules that allow us to act without analyzing every detail. The problem arises when we apply these shortcuts outside the context in which they are effective.
Useful shortcuts that can bias our decisions
Confirmation bias pushes us to look for data that fits with what we already think. Availability causes us to overvalue what we remember easily, while overconfidence can lead us to believe that we know more than we really know.
This does not mean that evolution has “made” a defective brain. On the contrary: in uncertain environments, deciding quickly could be more profitable than always getting it right. These shortcuts allow you to respond when there is not enough time or information to analyze all the possibilities. Its usefulness, however, depends on the circumstances: a rule that helps make a quick decision can be misleading when applied in a different context.
When the environment changes, so does the risk
A noise in the bushes could just be the wind, but assuming it was a predator had a lower cost than ignoring it if there was really danger. In a situation like this, reacting cautiously could be more convenient than stopping to check every clue. It was not necessary to always be right: it was enough for the quick response to be useful on many occasions.
It was not necessary to always be right: it was enough for the quick response to be useful on many occasions.
Conflict arises when mechanisms adapted to handle limited information face an environment saturated with headlines, videos, opinions and alerts. Our shortcuts still work, but now they can be exploited, amplified, repeated and shared on a scale that evolution has never had to face. The ease of remembering a fact, for example, can influence how much we believe something happens; and the tendency to attend to information that confirms our ideas can make it more difficult to value other perspectives. Therefore, recognizing that we use these mental rules does not eliminate all errors, but it does allow us to stop and review a conclusion before accepting it as true.
