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Primitive mind vs Higher mind

Date posted: September 18, 2023

I’ve recently come across “What’s our problem” by Tim Urban on Blinkist, in which he shared an interesting idea that all of us have a primitive mind and a higher mind constantly at odds with one another. Here is the summary from Blinkist, the emphasis are mine:

Your primitive mind wants you to eat the whole bag of Skittles. Your higher mind tells you that it’s probably a bad idea.

These two minds are constantly in conflict, and whichever is winning out decides the way that you think; how you make your decisions and form your beliefs. Think of it as a four-runged ladder.

When you’re on the top rung, your higher mind is in complete control. Here, you logically observe evidence and reach conclusions with a clear emotional detachment and a desire to find the truth –no matter what it is. Let’s call this “thinking like a scientist.”

Go down to the next rung on the ladder and your higher mind is still in control but your primitive mind is having a bit more of a say. Let’s think of this as “thinking like a sports fan” – you know and respect the rules of the game, but you really want your team to win. You’re no longer impartial and you’re subject to the confirmation biases that a first-rung thinker would avoid.

The third rung is where problems start. Here your primitive mind has a much greater influence. Now you’re “thinking like an attorney.” You’ll argue or defend a point no matter how truthful or logical it is. You’re not just motivated to be right, you’re obligated. On this rung, you’ll see people claiming that the earth is flat or the CIA is after them, with no amount of evidence changing their minds.

Finally, on the fourth and bottom rung, your primitive mind is in full control and you’re “thinking like a zealot.” Your ideas and beliefs are your baby and no one can tell you that they’re not perfect. You don’t need to do any research to prove that you’re right, you just know you are. Any agreement is accepted unconditionally, and any challenge is seen as a personal attack.

When you apply this ladder to the world, you can start looking at divisive problems in terms of how people think, instead of what they think. Whether the issue is climate change, abortion, or whatever drama is going on in politics, if you look at it in terms of what rung the person is operating on, things start to make a lot more sense.

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Primitive mind vs Higher mind

I’ve recently come across “What’s our problem” by Tim Urban on Blinkist, in which he shared an interesting idea that all of us have a primitive mind and a higher mind constantly at odds with one another. Here is the summary from Blinkist, the emphasis are mine:

Your primitive mind wants you to eat the whole bag of Skittles. Your higher mind tells you that it’s probably a bad idea.

These two minds are constantly in conflict, and whichever is winning out decides the way that you think; how you make your decisions and form your beliefs. Think of it as a four-runged ladder.

When you’re on the top rung, your higher mind is in complete control. Here, you logically observe evidence and reach conclusions with a clear emotional detachment and a desire to find the truth –no matter what it is. Let’s call this “thinking like a scientist.”

Go down to the next rung on the ladder and your higher mind is still in control but your primitive mind is having a bit more of a say. Let’s think of this as “thinking like a sports fan” – you know and respect the rules of the game, but you really want your team to win. You’re no longer impartial and you’re subject to the confirmation biases that a first-rung thinker would avoid.

The third rung is where problems start. Here your primitive mind has a much greater influence. Now you’re “thinking like an attorney.” You’ll argue or defend a point no matter how truthful or logical it is. You’re not just motivated to be right, you’re obligated. On this rung, you’ll see people claiming that the earth is flat or the CIA is after them, with no amount of evidence changing their minds.

Finally, on the fourth and bottom rung, your primitive mind is in full control and you’re “thinking like a zealot.” Your ideas and beliefs are your baby and no one can tell you that they’re not perfect. You don’t need to do any research to prove that you’re right, you just know you are. Any agreement is accepted unconditionally, and any challenge is seen as a personal attack.

When you apply this ladder to the world, you can start looking at divisive problems in terms of how people think, instead of what they think. Whether the issue is climate change, abortion, or whatever drama is going on in politics, if you look at it in terms of what rung the person is operating on, things start to make a lot more sense.

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Primitive mind vs Higher mind

I’ve recently come across “What’s our problem” by Tim Urban on Blinkist, in which he shared an interesting idea that all of us have a primitive mind and a higher mind constantly at odds with one another. Here is the summary from Blinkist, the emphasis are mine:

Your primitive mind wants you to eat the whole bag of Skittles. Your higher mind tells you that it’s probably a bad idea.

These two minds are constantly in conflict, and whichever is winning out decides the way that you think; how you make your decisions and form your beliefs. Think of it as a four-runged ladder.

When you’re on the top rung, your higher mind is in complete control. Here, you logically observe evidence and reach conclusions with a clear emotional detachment and a desire to find the truth –no matter what it is. Let’s call this “thinking like a scientist.”

Go down to the next rung on the ladder and your higher mind is still in control but your primitive mind is having a bit more of a say. Let’s think of this as “thinking like a sports fan” – you know and respect the rules of the game, but you really want your team to win. You’re no longer impartial and you’re subject to the confirmation biases that a first-rung thinker would avoid.

The third rung is where problems start. Here your primitive mind has a much greater influence. Now you’re “thinking like an attorney.” You’ll argue or defend a point no matter how truthful or logical it is. You’re not just motivated to be right, you’re obligated. On this rung, you’ll see people claiming that the earth is flat or the CIA is after them, with no amount of evidence changing their minds.

Finally, on the fourth and bottom rung, your primitive mind is in full control and you’re “thinking like a zealot.” Your ideas and beliefs are your baby and no one can tell you that they’re not perfect. You don’t need to do any research to prove that you’re right, you just know you are. Any agreement is accepted unconditionally, and any challenge is seen as a personal attack.

When you apply this ladder to the world, you can start looking at divisive problems in terms of how people think, instead of what they think. Whether the issue is climate change, abortion, or whatever drama is going on in politics, if you look at it in terms of what rung the person is operating on, things start to make a lot more sense.

go back