Seven Ways You Figure Things Out and Solve Problems
The human brain is a marvelous organ. It is designed for but one thing: survival of the body. And survival means solving a non ending stream of problems. Ever thought about how you figure things out? Your marvelous brain has it covered. Indeed, you use six separate systems to make conclusions, resolve questions, problem solve, and just about everything else. Using the acronym BRAIPIE, we describe them in this order. The order and priority a person uses one or another of these systems varies from person to person, from religion to religion, from fine arts to science.
Beliefs/Faith - You have a set of beliefs and a state of faith, both of which which function as guideposts on how to view problems and resolve difficulties. These are your strongest system, and can override all other considerations. The two overlap so much, it isn't really possible to distinguish them. The first is the second, and the second is the first.
Random - When all else fails, and all considerations are equal, what do you do? Throw the dice. This means just take a guess. We all do this from time to time, usually when there is little time to use your more considered systems to respond.
Analytic - This is the logical part of your brain. It channels you through issues using the strengths of logical deduction and induction. You try hard to use accepted logical rules to make conclusions. Concommitant with logic are feliefs in the premises used. All argument needs premises, though sometimes subtle and unspoken they are present. In other words... Logic is an excellent vehicle to get you to another place, but you can't get anywhere unless you start from somewhere, your base premises. You may believe you have reasoned them out, but somewhere at their base is the belief in their certainty.
Instinct/Intuitive - You have a sense of what to do. It just comes to you. You have to react quickly. So, you rely on instincts of what to do. Sometimes, it is those gut-instincts that save your life, your job, your family, or anything else. They are substantially low information mechanisms.
Programs - Through life you program yourself to carry out certain complex actions. While at one time you used the other tools to draw conclusions or take actions, you now rely on a set of internally programs steps.
Emotional - You make a decision based on purely emotional grounds. You "feel" this is the proper recourse and decision because you "know" in your heart this is correct.
Note, these systems do overlap quite a bit. What stands out is when just one system is used. For example, in the television and movie series Star Trek, we often saw the constant (and exaggerated) contrast between Dr. Spock's fully analytic method of problem solving with Captain Kirk's rather intuitive methods. It is also clear when someone is acting purely on emotion. In a variation on one of the "Trolley Problems" suppose a trolley is hurtling down the track to a switch which you control. On each branch there is a single hiker, that will certainly be killed if the switch directs the train on that branch. You have no extra information. Which switch do you set? I know this sounds a little gruesome, but try to reason this out in any way other than simply select to randomly (considered the same if no action is taken).
To further amplify the strength of the belief/faith system we need only consider death. Please regard the millions of people over time who have given their lives on the basis of belief or faith. In contrast, I cannot list anyone who has died for their well argued logical position. Maybe Socrates?
Now consider the local bunny rabbit sitting in your backyard. Someone suddenly appears. The rabbit fears. What does it do? It reacts by instinct alone, though the instinct of flight. It is difficult to see the rabbit using any other system for most any problem. What about sex? Well, this is hormonal - not considered in this note.
Of course, which system or systems you use depends on various factors. Some problems are low information meaning you have incomplete information about the underlying issues. Some are high information lending themselves to a better analysis. Even further, some are complete information from which the analytical is possible. However, all of these are tainted by your personal proclivities, your morals, you ethics, and other socially philosophic tenets you have. How you use your BRAIPE is never clear, the particular situation has an important role.
Concordance and Conflicts. Seven systems to solve problems? At least seven. They overlap yet are still independent, and you could say they each have a mind of their own. System overlap causes paradoxes and conflicts. The best and most satisfying way to resolve any issue is for two of your systems to make the same conclusion. "I like this deal, the numbers add up, I feel good about, and my gut instinct is to go!" This is concordance. On the other side are conflicts; that is were two or more of your (BRAIPE) systems are offering different colutions. Every possible combination, Beliefs vs Logic, Faith vs Emotion, Emotion vs. Intuition."I like the deal, the numbers add up, but my instincts say no! Hmmm, what to do?" We live our lives with such conflicts and chosing between them. Or thinking and rethinking until a more concordant resolution is determined. Whenever you have a choice, you have a possible conflict. "I don't know which of these jobs to take; both have plusses and minuses."
Trust. This is a mental facet we rely on completely. Trust is a singular important commodity in the entire animal community. It transcends and combines your entire mental makeup. Trust is about survival. Trust is about success. Trust is about process. Without trust, we could not live day-to-day. Of all six systems, trust combines them all. Trust is the steady force in life, a third rail of interpersonal communication, decision making, and confidence. When you are accused of being non trustworthy, this can resonate with the very foundation of how you are considered, and whether you are just plain discounted. This implies the possibility collective terms of mental functioning not yet discussed.
Scientific vs. Everyday Thinking: On a Linked-In website, a question recently posed, "Do you agree or disagree or not sure if the whole of science is but a refinement of everyday thinking as suggested by Professor Einstein?" Within the BRAIPIE context we can posit an answer thusly: Science prefers the analytic method, though initiating ideas and formulations are often highly intuitive. New ones are often innovative. Moreover, every scientist has strong beliefs in the foundations of their particular specialty. Everyday thinking, on the other hand, involves each of the methods with a different mix (or signature) for each individual. In addition, everyday thinking is often completed in a low information environment, often with conflicting information presented. The practitioner of purely analytical thought, i.e. scientific thought, would appear clumsy in the everyday world. Indeed, science profoundly discourages the random and emotional traces of thinking. It also discourages the use of beliefs and intuition proposed solutions to problems.
Pathway through life. During one's life, one, maybe two, of these systems dominate your thinking on resolution of issues. The child relies substantially on belief/faith (in parents) and personal emotion. Gradually learning analytical thinking the child, coming to adulthood, comes to rely on it in many circumstances. Other systems are rejected completely with the analytics so dominant. But then this system is diminished somewhat later on as the older adult has seen so many conclusions made differently, each based on a clear logical path. Indeed, the entire of study of philosophy is consumed with different conclusions based upon analytical reasoning - of course based on different premises. The same obtains for politics, psychology, and even science.
Trolley Problems: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem
Trolley problems are essentially moral dilemmas and are somewhat "toy" problems posed at the extreme, a situation in which few of us are equipped to handle. Trauma surgeons, in a time of war, do make these decisions, however. It must be difficult. For more discussion on trolley problems, please see http://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2013/10/trolley-problems-revisited.html
The human brain is a marvelous organ. It is designed for but one thing: survival of the body. And survival means solving a non ending stream of problems. Ever thought about how you figure things out? Your marvelous brain has it covered. Indeed, you use six separate systems to make conclusions, resolve questions, problem solve, and just about everything else. Using the acronym BRAIPIE, we describe them in this order. The order and priority a person uses one or another of these systems varies from person to person, from religion to religion, from fine arts to science.
Beliefs/Faith - You have a set of beliefs and a state of faith, both of which which function as guideposts on how to view problems and resolve difficulties. These are your strongest system, and can override all other considerations. The two overlap so much, it isn't really possible to distinguish them. The first is the second, and the second is the first.
Random - When all else fails, and all considerations are equal, what do you do? Throw the dice. This means just take a guess. We all do this from time to time, usually when there is little time to use your more considered systems to respond.
Analytic - This is the logical part of your brain. It channels you through issues using the strengths of logical deduction and induction. You try hard to use accepted logical rules to make conclusions. Concommitant with logic are feliefs in the premises used. All argument needs premises, though sometimes subtle and unspoken they are present. In other words... Logic is an excellent vehicle to get you to another place, but you can't get anywhere unless you start from somewhere, your base premises. You may believe you have reasoned them out, but somewhere at their base is the belief in their certainty.
Instinct/Intuitive - You have a sense of what to do. It just comes to you. You have to react quickly. So, you rely on instincts of what to do. Sometimes, it is those gut-instincts that save your life, your job, your family, or anything else. They are substantially low information mechanisms.
Programs - Through life you program yourself to carry out certain complex actions. While at one time you used the other tools to draw conclusions or take actions, you now rely on a set of internally programs steps.
Innovation
– To solve some problems within our
mental sandbox is impossible to us. We
need a larger view, a larger perspective.
We need to innovate a new idea, not exactly from extant theory or
knowledge. We need to create a new
vision upon which to focus. This expanded
view implies the addition of new thinking, but also new theory. Mind you, this is not for most of us. True innovation is rare, but singularly
effective for difficult problems. It required innovations by, for example,
Albert Einstein to fathom the conflicts of classical physics in the presence of
experimental evidence. Without the
innovation, classical physics would be forever mired, possibly constructing a
Ptolemaic system of enhancements to make token explanations.
Emotional - You make a decision based on purely emotional grounds. You "feel" this is the proper recourse and decision because you "know" in your heart this is correct.
Note, these systems do overlap quite a bit. What stands out is when just one system is used. For example, in the television and movie series Star Trek, we often saw the constant (and exaggerated) contrast between Dr. Spock's fully analytic method of problem solving with Captain Kirk's rather intuitive methods. It is also clear when someone is acting purely on emotion. In a variation on one of the "Trolley Problems" suppose a trolley is hurtling down the track to a switch which you control. On each branch there is a single hiker, that will certainly be killed if the switch directs the train on that branch. You have no extra information. Which switch do you set? I know this sounds a little gruesome, but try to reason this out in any way other than simply select to randomly (considered the same if no action is taken).
To further amplify the strength of the belief/faith system we need only consider death. Please regard the millions of people over time who have given their lives on the basis of belief or faith. In contrast, I cannot list anyone who has died for their well argued logical position. Maybe Socrates?
Now consider the local bunny rabbit sitting in your backyard. Someone suddenly appears. The rabbit fears. What does it do? It reacts by instinct alone, though the instinct of flight. It is difficult to see the rabbit using any other system for most any problem. What about sex? Well, this is hormonal - not considered in this note.
Of course, which system or systems you use depends on various factors. Some problems are low information meaning you have incomplete information about the underlying issues. Some are high information lending themselves to a better analysis. Even further, some are complete information from which the analytical is possible. However, all of these are tainted by your personal proclivities, your morals, you ethics, and other socially philosophic tenets you have. How you use your BRAIPE is never clear, the particular situation has an important role.
Concordance and Conflicts. Seven systems to solve problems? At least seven. They overlap yet are still independent, and you could say they each have a mind of their own. System overlap causes paradoxes and conflicts. The best and most satisfying way to resolve any issue is for two of your systems to make the same conclusion. "I like this deal, the numbers add up, I feel good about, and my gut instinct is to go!" This is concordance. On the other side are conflicts; that is were two or more of your (BRAIPE) systems are offering different colutions. Every possible combination, Beliefs vs Logic, Faith vs Emotion, Emotion vs. Intuition."I like the deal, the numbers add up, but my instincts say no! Hmmm, what to do?" We live our lives with such conflicts and chosing between them. Or thinking and rethinking until a more concordant resolution is determined. Whenever you have a choice, you have a possible conflict. "I don't know which of these jobs to take; both have plusses and minuses."
Trust. This is a mental facet we rely on completely. Trust is a singular important commodity in the entire animal community. It transcends and combines your entire mental makeup. Trust is about survival. Trust is about success. Trust is about process. Without trust, we could not live day-to-day. Of all six systems, trust combines them all. Trust is the steady force in life, a third rail of interpersonal communication, decision making, and confidence. When you are accused of being non trustworthy, this can resonate with the very foundation of how you are considered, and whether you are just plain discounted. This implies the possibility collective terms of mental functioning not yet discussed.
Scientific vs. Everyday Thinking: On a Linked-In website, a question recently posed, "Do you agree or disagree or not sure if the whole of science is but a refinement of everyday thinking as suggested by Professor Einstein?" Within the BRAIPIE context we can posit an answer thusly: Science prefers the analytic method, though initiating ideas and formulations are often highly intuitive. New ones are often innovative. Moreover, every scientist has strong beliefs in the foundations of their particular specialty. Everyday thinking, on the other hand, involves each of the methods with a different mix (or signature) for each individual. In addition, everyday thinking is often completed in a low information environment, often with conflicting information presented. The practitioner of purely analytical thought, i.e. scientific thought, would appear clumsy in the everyday world. Indeed, science profoundly discourages the random and emotional traces of thinking. It also discourages the use of beliefs and intuition proposed solutions to problems.
Pathway through life. During one's life, one, maybe two, of these systems dominate your thinking on resolution of issues. The child relies substantially on belief/faith (in parents) and personal emotion. Gradually learning analytical thinking the child, coming to adulthood, comes to rely on it in many circumstances. Other systems are rejected completely with the analytics so dominant. But then this system is diminished somewhat later on as the older adult has seen so many conclusions made differently, each based on a clear logical path. Indeed, the entire of study of philosophy is consumed with different conclusions based upon analytical reasoning - of course based on different premises. The same obtains for politics, psychology, and even science.
Trolley Problems: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem
Trolley problems are essentially moral dilemmas and are somewhat "toy" problems posed at the extreme, a situation in which few of us are equipped to handle. Trauma surgeons, in a time of war, do make these decisions, however. It must be difficult. For more discussion on trolley problems, please see http://used-ideas.blogspot.com/2013/10/trolley-problems-revisited.html
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