When Your Gut Is Wrong

With his Nobel-prize winning research and work, Daniel Kahneman has great insights into the two ways humans think. In his book Thinking Fast and Slow he writes about System 1, which is the more reactionary and instinctive way we think and System 2 which is the more deliberate and logical way.

Research shows that your gut instincts tend to be right when they are used in an area of expertise. For example, a cardiologist who has studied and practiced for years can make a quick assumption about a patient’s heart and most likely be correct.

 However, if that same cardiologist has a gut feeling about an investment or a car problem or any area where he or she is not and expert, that gut feeling will most likely be wrong.

 The problem for many of us is when we are expert at something, we sometimes believe we are expert at many things. As if we have a super-intuitive gut that can magically know the right answer with little to no background. Not true. Over and over actual research proves otherwise. So I’m telling myself next time I trust my gut, I’ll first check to make sure I have a thorough knowledge of the subject.

 If I don’t, I’ll do some research and trust my brain instead.