by Barrin92 on 2/9/21, 10:36 PM
In chess there's an idiom for this. "Long think, wrong think" because it's a quite common phenomenon that very good players will ruin positions by rather than playing with their good instinct, over-analyzing a position, there's a related situation of the hardest games to win being already won positions because there's so many ways to win that people will on occasion start doing something really stupid akin to the example of having too much choice in the article.
I think a nice collective analogue to this is Alfred Whitehead's observation that 'civilisation advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them'. Progress is being made by holistically integrating knowledge in a way that makes it sort of ambient.
It also reminds me of a slightly snarky article why all the people in the rationalist cult never seem to actually be successful at anything other than rationalism. It's precisely because consciously thinking is easy, it's the integration of knowledge into the whole is what's difficult but actually necessary.
by ChipSkylark on 2/9/21, 10:33 PM
Being already known by my friends and family to be an "overthinker" and prone to "analysis paralysis", I sometimes wonder why I'm still a SWE. I've slowly started to realize over time that my profession is filled with overthinking and over-engineering, and that our interview process can even select for it. IMO its hard to be the person that aces the technical interview gauntlet then walks out of the building and turns the analytical skills off.
Many interview processes seem to favor how well a candidate can enumerate edge cases and problem spaces over effective risk assessment and cost management. They're both important to evaluate but often in practice the dumb solution is what my team ends up using because can be more maintainable, cheaper to build, easier to reason about, etc. Today my aim is to get my requirements, write as few lines of quality code in as short of a time as possible, test it, ship it and be done.
Narrow focus and the ability to scope things down to what exactly what matters helps a lot. I defeat over-analysis by meditation, intentional dumbness/willful ignorance, and flow state.
by bumbada on 2/9/21, 10:00 PM
It is not really "not thinking", but not using your conscious mind, which can only focus on a single thing.
You think with your subconscious mind too. But this can do multiple things at the same time, way faster than the logical mind.
The harder you focus on a single thing, the more you ignore the entire system and the slower you perform.
It is not just instinct as the article say, a tennis player does not play by instinct because nobody knows how to play tennis when he is born.
It is by training that you develop intuition. If you train well you can perform well without thinking consciously. Training well is hard work and takes a lot of time too.
If you follow your instincts you are predictable and an easy prey. I can hunt or fish animals because they follow their instincts too well.
by hnick on 2/9/21, 11:12 PM
Thinking keeps me awake. It's getting worse as I get older.
Maybe it's anxiety or something related, and sometimes it's worried thoughts, but often it's just running through scenarios. Video games, media plots, what I need to do next week. My brain is far more active after 10pm, and I am personally more motivated. I get a burst of energy but it's not really the right time to clean the house so lying in bed has it all go to my head.
I've come to the conclusion I can't sleep with an active train of thought going on. It sounds like meditation should help but I haven't had much luck there. Maybe I just need to try more often until it becomes second nature.
by orky56 on 2/9/21, 9:42 PM
"The only reliable cure for overthinking seems to be enjoyment, something that both success and analysis can dull." This point at the end seems a bit forced without any support beyond the author's assertion. The feeling I get is someone who has mastered this unthinking is "enlightened" of sorts with an ability to get to satisfaction with a humility that can be mistaken for smugness.
From fiction, I might refer to the Wheel of Time series where Rand Al'Thor uses a trick to "find the void" in a way his father taught him. When you get overwhelmed from information and emotions, finding the void allows you to regain composure and think straight again.
by pwinnski on 2/9/21, 8:32 PM
by ylem on 2/10/21, 2:25 AM
It reminds me of a graduate quantum class I had. The professor gave what he called "infinite time length exams". We would come in during the afternoon and we could stay as long as we wanted to work on the exam--though we had to slip it under his door by say 9:00am. You could bring as many books as you wanted (apparently at one point you could bring "anything" and someone brought a professor--but that could just be a story). But, if you didn't finish in a reasonable time, you probably weren't going to get the answer.
by pwinnski on 2/9/21, 8:34 PM
Reading this article, I kept thinking of a song lyric: "Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb."
by AndrewPaul42 on 2/10/21, 3:31 AM
I am reminded of Alan Watts' book, 'The Wisdom of Insecurity,' where I was first exposed to this idea that "thinking too much can be bad for you." I found it lifechanging as it helped me to better manage OCD and anxiety. Recommended reading if you are searching for a tool to slow or limit your thinking.
by NoodleIncident on 2/9/21, 11:28 PM
After only skimming and searching, it seems a bit weird to open an article on this topic with an example from tennis and _not_ reference The Inner Game of Tennis. It's a pretty good book that can be applied to lots of things; conscious thought and verbalizing can make you worse at learning and executing a task.
by neonate on 2/9/21, 11:24 PM
by unix_fan on 2/9/21, 9:51 PM
My writing skills only improved after I stopped thinking about it. I’m still trying to figure out how to tap into this with other skills.
by tracyhenry on 2/9/21, 9:47 PM
> The only reliable cure for overthinking seems to be enjoyment
However, enjoyment in a high-stake situation is too hard to achieve. For people like actors, athletes and musicians, confidence generated through enough practice seems to be the cure. Enjoyment is an aftereffect. For situations for which you have no way to practice, enjoyment just seems hard.
by pantulis on 2/10/21, 9:47 AM
I'd say that it's not thinking too much -- your brain can't stop thinking! The issue is not being aware that you are thinking and that's what cognitive therapy, meditation and mindfulness is all about: being present while you think allows you to understand how this thought process affects your emotions.
by asimjalis on 2/9/21, 10:03 PM
I find it hard to disentangle the concepts of overthinking and Economist. Could this article lead to subscriber flight?
by smk_ on 2/9/21, 10:04 PM
This seems to be related to the concept of flow: finding that sweet spot between being too relaxed and too-stressed out. We need a moderate dose of stress to perform at our best. What's so interesting is that experiencing flow is also correlated with long-term fullfillment.
I've recently theorized the single most important factor for happiness and performance is being able to control your stress levels and increase/decrease your stress levels at will. It is not novel, but it helps me if I see my primary task as identifying which mechanisms can help me lower or increase stress. So far, meditation seems to have the best effect.
by nomy99 on 2/10/21, 5:56 AM
Anyone has a non pay link for the peasants ?
by airhead969 on 2/10/21, 11:36 AM
Qualitatively, I notice depressed people tend to read, write, and philosophize more. I think it partially explains the phenomenon of post-drinking philosophizing at 3 am since EtOH is ultimately a depressant and often amplified by tiredness, and also EtOh seems to promote socializing, Although hangovers are temporary depressive dips where reading, writing, and philosophizing may not be the first thought.. at least not until the bathroom, nsaids, and coffee.
by devxpy on 2/10/21, 3:26 PM
This reminds me of "This is water" by david foster wallace.
> The really significant education in thinking that we’re supposed to get in a place like this isn’t really about the capacity to think, but rather about the choice of what to think about
https://fs.blog/2012/04/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/
by jdkee on 2/9/21, 8:28 PM
It would be nice if the submitter posted a non-pay walled link.
by akdor1154 on 2/10/21, 1:51 AM
Well the approach of a certain successful EV CEO certainly seems to follow this advice.
(Though snarky, this is a reasoned observation/opinion after reading the article in full)
by jokoon on 2/10/21, 9:09 AM
When I think about the human brain and evolution, I don't view a large brain as a good or a bad thing or something that makes humans more capable than other animals or having a competitive edge.
It's weird how humans are so often suffering from depression, it seems like a larger brain is more the result of an organ gaining in size for all the bad reasons: anxiety, overthinking, mental illness, etc.
by zwieback on 2/9/21, 9:16 PM
The examples are for a specific situation, though: using your knowledge and experience under pressure. I don't think this maxim applies broadly.
by psychomugs on 2/10/21, 2:04 AM
"The professional...must fight to preserve the naivety that the layman already possesses" - Bill Evans, one of the great jazz pianists.
by FrozenVoid on 2/10/21, 6:15 AM
It depends on the subject of 'overthinking':
not all subjects are compatible with subconscious/instinctual approach,
creative/physical effort dominates only with simple rules and restricted systems - once your field is complex enough overthinking is more
potent at uncovering flaws/loopholes/creative insights.
by sbmthakur on 2/10/21, 4:03 AM
In my case, I have found myself not doing enough stuff whenever I think too much. "doing" here doesn't necessarily mean productive work. Even spending quality time with friends and family counts towards and can have much more rewarding effects when compared to overthinking.
by chosen1111 on 2/15/21, 9:41 PM
Instincts evolved with nature and time. Thinking did too but with the coevolution of poor thinking and negative self talk and bad advice within a short period of time.
by RHSman2 on 2/10/21, 9:39 AM
'and something you just do without thinking about it.'
Well, when you think about it you've changed the underlying quantum structure ;)
--- Cue the internet saying this isn't how quantum entanglement works
#TheGame
by jayp1418 on 2/10/21, 3:01 AM
As tool said:"over thinking over analysing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving all these opportunities behind."
by GizmoSwan on 2/10/21, 3:52 AM
Indecision is suppose to be bad but it is probably a natural response to possibility of poor outcome.
It all depends on the risks.
by avindroth on 2/10/21, 8:27 AM
You can extend this to logic can be bad for you.
by 11thEarlOfMar on 2/9/21, 10:00 PM
I finally understand my erratic bowling average.
by Frodo478 on 2/10/21, 12:15 AM
Yes, is better not thinking that much and fill all your free time with podcast, audiobooks and email subscription. So someone else will do the work for you
by bfung on 2/10/21, 4:01 AM
The average person doesn’t think enough.
by achow on 2/10/21, 5:52 AM
Title needs to be appended with (2012).
by aritmo on 2/10/21, 10:18 AM
I don't think so.
by HugoDaniel on 2/9/21, 10:05 PM
thinking too much certainly does not help with sex
by chordalkeyboard on 2/9/21, 8:44 PM
You might learn to think for yourself and that would be bad for us.
by soneca on 2/9/21, 8:42 PM
Well, I stopped reading when it said that Federer ”has been choking”, losing due to a ”mental frailty”. It told me everything I need to know that there is nothing serious to be read and learned in this article.
by EugeneOZ on 2/9/21, 10:28 PM
> To make good decisions in a complex world, Gigerenzer says, you have to be skilled at ignoring information.
It's total bullshit. It might work with some crap like a lottery or bets on “American Idol” winners, but to solve complex tasks you need more information and more experience. All the examples in this article are to impress not-so-well-educated people, level of TV-show, not higher.
When we make quick decisions in areas out of our expertise, we use the same logic as when we make decisions based on emotions, empathy, “intuition”. It's nothing more than a lottery.
Their first example is just about a mentally burnt out person, that's all. Yes, we should give a rest to our brains, but the advice “just don't think too much” is an idiotic oversimplification.