A new study has found that complex decisions are best left to your unconscious mind to work out, and that over-thinking a problem could lead to expensive mistakes.
The research suggests the conscious mind should be trusted only with simple decisions.
Thinking hard about a complex decision that rests on multiple factors appears to bamboozle the conscious mind so that people only consider a subset of information, which they weight inappropriately, resulting in an unsatisfactory choice. In contrast, the unconscious mind appears able to ponder over all the information and produce a decision that most people remain satisfied with.
I pretty much believe this as it has worked with me before in taking decisions, solving problems or even thinking up solutions and algorithms for my work.
I sometimes feel that all we do with our conscious mind, when we’re faced with a complex issue or decision, is somehow panic, mess things up and interfere with a natural and more balanced process that our unconscious mind would follow.
[Source: NewScientist]