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Comment by rdgthree | Hacker News Reader

I think Daniel Kahneman's System 1 (habits, unconscious) and System 2 (learning, "error correction", conscious) are physical systems, and System 2 takes a LOT more energy to run.

So, when you get tired, System 2 leans more and more on the much more energy efficient System 1. So you get behaviors that look like unrestrained habits: poor impulse control, lowered emotional regulation, etc

Edit: I wrote more about this idea if anyone is curious: https://1393.xyz/writing/alzheimers-is-the-symptom-not-the-p...

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I love the simplicity of the System 1/2 breakdown - but is there any actual evidence behind it? It seems like such a classic pop-psychology observational deduction of how something might work with no science to prove it.

In cognitive psychology there's all sorts of evidence that we have two distinct processes, but I don't think anyone has really mapped it to a physical system yet.

Modeling two physical systems is pretty interesting though because dementia ends up looking like a clear failure of System 2. Really neat idea generator even if imperfect.

My very controversial interpretation of taoism's wu wei [effortless action] is exactly this concept, which 2500 years later we can express in much more scientific ways.

Motivation, pure effort and stubbornness to change our ways, are wasted energy and a waste of time. The only way to effect behavioural change in ourselves is through the unconscious habits that drive 99% of our daily lives.

I feel not many people are aware that conscious activity is very energy-intense and sporadic. Most people have days that are 100% routine from morning to bedtime.

I do appreciate when people write up their ideas like this. It would be great if you had an RSS feed.

Should have added one sooner! Here you go: https://1393.xyz/rss.xml

Subscribed. Thank you.

If you’ve read the book, they stressed many times that this was irrelevant to the model and also probably untrue

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