Lehrer opens the book with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady driving down the field in the final moments of the Super Bowl against the Rams in 2002. As Lehrer makes clear, Brady's job is a mysterious combination of strict planning and split-second improvisation amidst chaos: "I don't know how I know where to pass," says QB Brady, "There are no firm rules. You just feel like you're going to the right place. . . . And that's where I throw it."
For an experienced quarterback or a professional golfer, someone who's made decisions unconsciously for years, the true danger comes from too much rational thought. Lehrer cites one experiment where expert golfers were instructed to think about the mechanics of their putting stoke as they putted. Their performance was significantly worse when thinking than when not thinking. For a great golfer, writes Lehrer, "the brain already knows what to do. It automatically computes the slope of the green, settles on the best putting angle, and decides how hard to hit the ball." For those with deep experience or expertise, too much rationality inhibits success.
The same holds true for issues of morality, notes Lehrer, a regular contributor to the Globe's Ideas section. Humans don't use their rational brains to decide what is the right thing to do in any situation. Feelings come first and rationality later. After describing a number of experiments supporting this view, Lehrer summarizes that "the emotional brain generates the verdict. It determines what is wrong or right . . . the rational brain, on the other hand, explains the verdict."
Yet emotion can be dangerous too, can close our eyes to alternatives. We need to use our rational brains to avoid the "certainty trap," which results in closed-mindedness and blind self-justifications after a decision has been made. "[W]hen making decisions," writes Lehrer, "actively resist the urge to suppress the argument. Instead, take the time to listen to what all the different brain areas have to say." Emotion is certainly an important piece of information, Lehrer believes, but it cannot be the only factor in making a decision. Open-mindedness is difficult, but critical.
