ABSTRACT
Human beings are not entirely rational and do not always behave logically. This chapter explains why – in a logical and scientific way that will appeal to many technical specialists. The human brain is wired to love predictability and crave certainty. It looks for patterns in the world and predictability in the people around us. However, our own brains do not always help us to behave in a predictable way. We often make decisions and choices based on what feels right, rather than methodically weighing up the available options. The part of our brain that favours intuitive choices develops very early and often comes to the fore, especially when we are stressed or tired. And it is not always wrong! A fully rational world may not be the world we want to live in. Our desire for fairness, for example, is not entirely logical, and sometimes our intuition alerts us to a conclusion before we have had time to process it rationally. Human beings are at their most effective when they get the interplay between their rational and emotional brains exactly right.
