If you have not done so yet, you should attempt the multiplication problem now, completing at least part of it. A precise solution did not come to mind, and you felt that you could choose whether or not to engage in the computation. Without spending some time on the problem, however, you would not be certain that the answer is not 568. You would be quick to recognize that both 12,609 and 123 are implausible. You also had some vague intuitive knowledge of the range of possible results. You knew immediately that this is a multiplication problem, and probably knew that you could solve it, with paper and pencil, if not without. You did not intend to assess her mood or to anticipate what she might do, and your reaction to the picture did not have the feel of something you did.
A premonition of what she was going to do next came to mind automatically and effortlessly. You sensed that this woman is about to say some very unkind words, probably in a loud and strident voice. Furthermore, what you saw extended into the future.
As surely and quickly as you saw that the young woman’s hair is dark, you knew she is angry. Your experience as you look at the woman’s face seamlessly combines what we normally call seeing and intuitive thinking.
To observe your mind in automatic mode, glance at the image below. Last month, Kahneman highlighted in a lecture given at the National Academy of Sciences "The Science of Science Communication" conference how realizing the limitations of each system can help us catch our own mistakes. ( Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.) Understanding how we think can also guide more personal decisions. For example, a commentary in the March issue of the journal Nature Climate Change outlined how carbon labeling that appeals to both systems could be more successful than previous efforts to change consumer habits. Understanding fast and slow thinking could help us find more rational solutions to problems that we as a society face. The following excerpt is the first chapter, entitled "The Characters of the Story," which introduces readers to these systems. These two systems that the brain uses to process information are the focus of Nobelist Daniel Kahneman's new book, Thinking, Fast and Slow (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC., 2011). That automatic mode of thinking, not under voluntary control, contrasts with the need to slow down and deliberately fiddle with pencil and paper when working through an algebra problem. To survive physically or psychologically, we sometimes need to react automatically to a speeding taxi as we step off the curb or to the subtle facial cues of an angry boss.
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