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Working, Fast And Slow
In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman suggests that we have two modes of thinking. The first is emotive, intuitive and fast. The second is rational, deliberative and slow. As humans we evolved to make split-second decisions in life-or-death situations. Our slow-moving rational minds don’t automatically engage unless we deliberately focus.
Cal Newport, in his new book Slow Productivity, makes a similar point about work. In our hectic modern lives, we need to optimize tasks, such as returning emails, dropping off kids and managing schedules, to keep things moving. We need to do this quickly, because there are other people depending on us to get things done.
Yet there is also a different mode of working. Often, this type of activity is not pursued with a specific goal in mind, but rather as an exploration. There are stops and starts, dead ends and blind alleys, as well as long fallow periods that can span months or even years. This, however, is the kind of work that makes significant impacts on the world. Not all who wander are lost.
The Eureka Moment Myth
The story of Archimedes shouting “Eureka!” — though likely embellished — continues to shape how we imagine breakthroughs: a sudden flash of insight that solves a major problem. It’s the moment in a Hollywood film when the protagonist freezes…
