Brain Or Gut Feeling?

Rafael Behr gives an insightful account of a distinction, made the late Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman. Kahneman, in a book (Thinking, Fast and Slow) and elsewhere, differentiated between rapid decision making (like our early ancestors responding to possible threats) and slower, carefully-considered analyses (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/03/frenzied-politics-damaging-daniel-kahneman-doctrine). Simple illustrations of the gut versus the brain modes of thinking, are presented. For example, you tell folk 'the cost of buying a bat and a ball is £1.10 and a bat costs £1 more than the ball'. If you then ask them , what is the cost of a ball, most people will respond '10p (£0.10)'. The correct answer is, of course, '5p (£0.5)'. In a similar vein, if you ask people 'What's the liklihood of a natural disaster striking North America?', a large majority will respond 'Very unlikely'. Ask the same folk 'What's the liklihood of a natural disaster, striking California?', most will say 'Very likely'. This, of course, ignores the fact that California is part of North America. Behr's basic concern is that, when making political choices, many people vote with their guts rather than their brains. Electronic media seems to increase the probility voters will not carefully evaluate their options. It seems a current danger.