In reading Determined by Dr. Sapolsky, I learned that there are so many factors that influence our "rational" thinking. The most surprising one was when one has eaten! He gave the example of a study of judges and how they ruled before and after lunch. Very surprising how they rationalized their decisions!
Yes - that study is one of the most elegantly devastating examples of how deeply embodied our so-called “rationality” really is.
The fact that something as simple as blood glucose can tilt a judge’s decision speaks volumes: not just about bias, but about structure. We’re not thinking minds with bodies attached - we’re complex, oscillating systems where biology, emotion, memory, and context co-author every decision.
What Sapolsky does so masterfully is strip away the illusion of sovereign cognition. And once you see it - you can’t unsee it. Rationality isn’t purity of logic - it’s a function of timing, hormones, mood, context, and yes, calories.
Which makes clarity not a given, but a discipline - something that must be structured, designed for, protected. Not against others, but against ourselves.
We don’t need to panic about this - but we do need to adapt. Because if something as mundane as lunch changes the course of justice… imagine what intentional rhythm and design could make possible.
This is an excellent distillation - and such a needed reminder that awareness isn’t immunity, but it is a form of agency.
What struck me most is your framing (yes, intentionally said) that the problem isn’t simply the presence of bias, but our failure to design around it. Most people treat cognitive biases like pop-psych trivia or as flaws to be monitored - but they are, in fact, architectural features of the human mind. Predictable. Patterned. Systematic. Which means they can be mapped, navigated, even integrated into better models of self-regulation.
What if we didn’t just “catch” our biases?
What if we built internal systems that anticipated them - and restructured our thought loops accordingly?
That’s where clarity stops being a philosophical aspiration and becomes a practical technology of thought. That’s when behaviour shifts - not from willpower, but from alignment.
Also, thank you for calling out that delicious paradox: that we all feel rational until our systems are exposed. That real insight is rarely ego-affirming - and yet, that’s precisely what makes it liberating.
Looking forward to reading more of your work - this is the kind of cognitive hygiene that actually changes lives.
In reading Determined by Dr. Sapolsky, I learned that there are so many factors that influence our "rational" thinking. The most surprising one was when one has eaten! He gave the example of a study of judges and how they ruled before and after lunch. Very surprising how they rationalized their decisions!
Indeed, there are certainly many other factors that impact our decision-making beyond cognitive biases.
Yes - that study is one of the most elegantly devastating examples of how deeply embodied our so-called “rationality” really is.
The fact that something as simple as blood glucose can tilt a judge’s decision speaks volumes: not just about bias, but about structure. We’re not thinking minds with bodies attached - we’re complex, oscillating systems where biology, emotion, memory, and context co-author every decision.
What Sapolsky does so masterfully is strip away the illusion of sovereign cognition. And once you see it - you can’t unsee it. Rationality isn’t purity of logic - it’s a function of timing, hormones, mood, context, and yes, calories.
Which makes clarity not a given, but a discipline - something that must be structured, designed for, protected. Not against others, but against ourselves.
We don’t need to panic about this - but we do need to adapt. Because if something as mundane as lunch changes the course of justice… imagine what intentional rhythm and design could make possible.
This is an excellent distillation - and such a needed reminder that awareness isn’t immunity, but it is a form of agency.
What struck me most is your framing (yes, intentionally said) that the problem isn’t simply the presence of bias, but our failure to design around it. Most people treat cognitive biases like pop-psych trivia or as flaws to be monitored - but they are, in fact, architectural features of the human mind. Predictable. Patterned. Systematic. Which means they can be mapped, navigated, even integrated into better models of self-regulation.
What if we didn’t just “catch” our biases?
What if we built internal systems that anticipated them - and restructured our thought loops accordingly?
That’s where clarity stops being a philosophical aspiration and becomes a practical technology of thought. That’s when behaviour shifts - not from willpower, but from alignment.
Also, thank you for calling out that delicious paradox: that we all feel rational until our systems are exposed. That real insight is rarely ego-affirming - and yet, that’s precisely what makes it liberating.
Looking forward to reading more of your work - this is the kind of cognitive hygiene that actually changes lives.