We live in highly
opinionated times, and between an unrelenting news cycle and bottomless
ideological divides, we feel pressure to take sides hastily, often on situations
and issues that are still developing, or on subjects we have little knowledge about.
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| Le Penseur (The Thinker) at the Musée Rodin in Paris |
While the
ability to think and act swiftly is regarded as a necessary skill in many
situations, research suggests that slow thinking requires more orderly thought
and pay out more productive decision-making than quick reactions, which are often
less accurate or useful. Lao Tzu was one of the foremost philosophers who spoke
fervently in favour of cognitive patience. To him, simplicity, patience,
and compassion were three greatest treasures of a person. He also believed that a person who knows does
not speak, and one who speaks does not know.
Daniel
Kahneman, an Israeli-American psychologist and one of the most prominent advocates
of slow thinking research, in his book Thinking,
Fast and Slow (2011), says that people
mostly rely on speediness, but it's actually the slowness that assists better
decisions to be made.
When we’re
not quickly jumping to conclusions or expeditiously taking actions, we’re free
to weigh ideas and adjust our minds, or just be intentionally undecided. Having
no fixed position is sometimes a liberating way to navigate the situation.
