David Basch: Humans aren't computers — rational thinking gets switched off by emotion
dbasch · x · 2026-08-19
Responding to a tweet marveling that most people navigate life almost entirely by emotion, David Basch argues that analytical people overestimate the value of analysis. Humans lack clearly defined goals, are at the mercy of neurotransmitters and hormones, and aim their rational thinking capriciously. He criticizes the mistake of very intelligent people trying to understand intelligence as if everyone knew what they wanted — humans are far messier, and efforts to act like computers end abruptly when we feel something.
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