Less Thinking is Fast Thinking

"You don't have time to think up there. If you think, you're dead."
--Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Top Gun)

Thomas Sowell laments an increasing trend in the lack of thinking reflected in many current policies and their defense. To the extent that a trend does in fact exist, Kahneman might suggest that the trend does not reflect lack of thinking, but an increasingly dominant role of System 1 (fast) thinking over System 2 (slow) thinking.

What might explain a trend toward more fast thinking? A few possibilities:

People are more pressed for time. System 1 is fast and renders judgment quickly--even if it is subject to error and bias.

People feel more threatened today. System 1 is a product of our evolution, when fast thinking was necessary for survival.

Popularity and shock value. In today's interconnected world, people are anxious to self-brand. They are more likely to take biased positions and make wild statements to gain attention and collect followers. System 1 makes this happen.

Schools are less prone to help children develop their System 2 thinking skills. When kids become adults, they have underdeveloped reasoning capacities.

People feel that they have more to lose today. System 1 is inducing a classic endowment effect.