03 - The Lazy Controller

Описание: System 2 is lazy: it prefers to save effort and usually validates what System 1 proposes. This makes us efficient but vulnerable to illusions, impulses, and hastily justified decisions. The chapter shows why self-control and critical thinking fail, especially under pressure or distraction.

The defining feature of System 2 is that its operations require effort, and one of its main characteristics is laziness—a reluctance to invest more effort than is strictly necessary. The law of least effort applies to both cognitive and physical exertion: if there are several ways to achieve the same goal, people will eventually gravitate to the least demanding course of action. Laziness is built deep into our nature.

Kahneman presents evidence that intelligence and cognitive effort are related but distinct. Some people are more intellectually active than others—they engage System 2 more readily and suppress the intuitive answers of System 1. Studies using the Cognitive Reflection Test show that people differ in their willingness to engage in cognitive effort. Those who score higher on cognitive reflection are also more patient, less impulsive, and more willing to delay gratification.

A troubling finding is that System 2 often fails to check the work of System 1 even when it should. When System 1 encounters difficulty, it calls on System 2 for detailed processing—but System 2 is often too lazy to engage fully. This creates systematic errors. For example, people often fail to detect obvious logical inconsistencies in their reasoning because checking requires effort, and System 2 would rather coast.

The chapter discusses flow—the state of effortless concentration where System 2 hums along efficiently. This happens when you're working on a task that is challenging but not overwhelming, where your skills match the demands. In flow, both systems work in harmony. But this is relatively rare. More commonly, System 2 is either disengaged (letting System 1 run the show) or struggling (depleting attention trying to handle tasks beyond comfortable capacity).