Anomalistic History

Throughout history learned men in leadership positions have repeatedly been called upon to make decisions affecting the fate of their country, a business or their personal lives. Unfortunately and too frequently, a wrong course of action was determined. Even when given good data, too many lettered people misunderstand, misinterpret and mismanage perplexing problems.

What presents itself too often is that well educated seemingly smart people aren’t because their attitude and faulty thinking contributed to bad decision-making. Some are overly confident and think they are better than what they really are. Others are overly optimistic and fail to cogitate downside risk because they imagine things will go better than expected. Then there are those whose accrued knowledge and technical competence is often limited to specific areas of expertise, though they frequently make crucial and deficient decisions outside their realm of understanding. Dismayingly, there are also pathologically narcissistic authoritarians who independently speculate and make imprudent egoistic decisions concerning problems that are beyond any individual’s natural ability to resolve.

Many members of the intelligentsia also fail to broaden their analytical prowess by virtue of simply failing to listen or assimilate vital information from others. Too many of them listen just to respond which means they are thinking of their next response (or something altogether different) and not mentally grasping relevant counseling that might be used in making judicious assessments and conclusions.

In the same vein of inattentive or susceptible listeners, there’s also a sum of ostensibly intelligent individuals who possess a greater degree of emotional impressionability and are more subconsciously influenced (or mentally fashioned) by the way received information is framed, marketed, spun, propagandized or advertised. In turn, their decision making is often decidedly swayed by unconsciously absorbed deceptions and distortions. (It should be understood, however, that it’s usually easier to convince or manipulate the thought processes of those possessing lesser intelligence and/or educational accomplishments.)

In all likelihood though, the most creditable reason people of all literacy levels exhibit deficient reasoning skills or make poor decisions is a consequence of using biased commonsense intelligence, emotions and even sometimes intuition to draw conclusions.

Too many people simply use subconscious subjectivity when making decisions as opposed to making objective analytical judgments and claims that are assumed to be free from personal considerations and emotional perspectives.

In this world man has two significant possessions: intelligence and emotions. Our intellectual and emotional capacities govern our day to day lives, though too often emotions get the upper hand. Furthermore, a great many people who possess intellectual qualities such as knowledge, understanding and experience lack the capacity or wisdom (they exhibit a low emotional intelligence quotient) to control their emotions and the ability to appropriately apply their academic attributes toward finding proper solutions. When people truly desire or dislike something or someone, instead of employing rational deliberated thought, they all too frequently just “react” and base their response on emotions.

Commonsense

The term commonsense technically refers to what people in common would agree on, that which they intuit (sense) as their common natural understanding. Logically though, the term correctly refers to beliefs or propositions that, in the user’s opinion, would in most people's experience be prudent and of sound judgment, without dependence upon esoteric knowledge, study, or research, but based upon knowledge believed, by the person using the term, to be held by people "in common."

It’s exceedingly difficult to come up with an exact definition of common sense and to identify particular items of knowledge that are "commonsense." To a degree commonsense is an oxymoron in that the understanding of “commonsense” differs greatly among individuals; there just isn’t a lot of commonality.

The choice of commonsense intelligence and not to explore a situation is the result of a biased attitude restricting perceptions and perceptiveness. The bias in commonsense is that unwillingness in intelligence that disregards exploring any consideration whose inferences do not seem to support our own perspective; but instead will construct perceptions which are more conducive to one’s personal interests. This unwillingness to develop broader understanding will lead to short-sighted deficient decisions that can create problems.

An open mind deliberately seeks and appreciates new ideas, exploring and experimenting with different ways of looking at things as oppose to someone who uses biased commonsense and won’t accept new information or opposing viewpoints, often basing their personal opinions on traditional, moral or religious teachings. Emotions such as greed, desire, contempt, ego, et cetera often cloud commonsense. The misapplication of commonsense can cause people to believe they already have the answer and no longer need to continue learning by intellectual argument.

It’s not to be construed that commonsense can’t be a vital asset as long as there is not a reliance on common sense (in its disguise as "received knowledge") to the point where it’s an impediment to the reasoning process of drawing inferences or conclusions; moving from what is known (fact) to what is unknown (deduction). This view appears especially popular in mathematics, physics and science.

Conservative opponents of many scientific and technological innovations and advances often irrationally resort to the doctrine of common sense. Their misuse of the notion of common sense exemplifies the error in reasoning of argumentum ad populum (Latin: "appeal to the people"), in logic, is a fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or all people believe it; it alleges that if many believe so, it is so.

Intuition
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Intuition is the immediate apprehension of an object by the mind without the intervention of any reasoning process. It is the brain drawing on past experiences and external cues to make a decision, but one that happens so fast the reaction is at a non-conscious level. Intuition is a knowing and a sensing that is beyond the conscious understanding, a gut feeling. The problem is intuitive decisions aren’t always correct since most people’s recollections are limited and imperfect; moreover, individuals intuitive qualities vary greatly from person to person, partly because so many are overconfident (illusional) about their views. They tend to overestimate the precision of their knowledge, underestimate risks and exaggerate their ability, therefore, disrupting their intuitive capacity.

The illusion of competence is a common trait in nearly everyone; for example: 90% of motorists consider themselves above average drivers. In reality only 50% can really be better-than-average drivers; hence 40% have an illusion of competence about their driving skills.

Positive illusions often help people to feel good about themselves, causing many to believe they are better than they really are, that the present is better than the past, and the future will be better than the present. The problem is that too often it sets the stage for unpleasant surprises for which they are ill-prepared when their overly optimistic beliefs are disconfirmed. Of more concern, though, is that people who hold positive illusions are more likely to undertake courses of actions (making decisions) which are oft times inclined to produce failure than success. Therefore, in decision making, analyzing and limiting down side (negative) risk should be infinitely more important than being optimistic about a positive outcome.

Emotions

An emotion is a term for a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and behavior. People’s thoughts and decision processes sometimes take the form of carefully reasoned analysis and at other times turn to unstructured emotions. Emotions play a powerful, central role in everyday life and shape how people perceive the world. Emotions bias mankind’s beliefs and influence our decisions and in large measure, guide how people adapt their behavior to the physical and social environment.

Emotions played a major role in America’s recent economic collapse in the housing and credit markets. Emotional traits such as entrepreneurial arrogance along with corporate greed and society’s irrepressible desire to own what they couldn’t afford turned out to be a recipe for financial disaster.

Likewise, the emotional biases of America’s politicians contributed considerably to the country’s economic fiasco. Lamentably, our elected officials are like everyone else, basing too many decisions on emotions rather than fact. It almost appears as though most politicians’ voting records are primarily influenced by self-preservation and emotional biases. It is a shame because our present Congress is well educated. At least 396 Members of the House and 97 Senators hold bachelor’s degrees; 120 Members of the House and 19 Senators have master’s degrees; 170 Members of the House and 58 Senators hold law degrees; 20 Members of the House have doctoral degrees; and 14 Members of the House and four Senators hold medical degrees.

The problem is this talented pool of governmental officials gives the impression they’re bogged down with emotional biases that seem to be infused into their psyche. These counterproductive psychological barriers such as, “live for the moment,” “no pain for us, no gain for them,” “their gain is our loss” and “only if it supports our group,” preclude politicians from making rational well thought out nonpartisan judgments or conclusions. Instead of doing what’s best for the country, they’re more inclined to capitulate to their biases and do what’s most advantageous for themselves and their party. Legislators are elected to make hard choices; unfortunately, for too many of them it’s not about the most astute manner to accommodate the country; it seems to be more about the optimum way of remaining a viable candidate in American’s political popularity contest.

At a time when Congress or the executive branch should have perceptively throttled the real estate boom, they were euphonically perpetuating the nation’s irrational exuberance and even encouraging the expansion of the housing bubble. Entrepreneurs and politicians alike were ecstatic about the illusionary bubbling economy. Nonetheless, there were few people, with even limited financial experience, that didn’t recognized the inevitability of a coming meltdown in the real estate market; yet, our elected officials were reluctant to act because anyone attempting to moderate the dangerously robust and immensely profitable real estate industry during its prime would have simply been out of favor. The same bureaucratic cowardliness scenario played out for the speculative stock market boom and bust in the late 90’s.

There are literally dozens of emotions that affects the way the mind processes information as well as the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us. Some of the more common emotions are: Acceptance, Affection, Anger, Annoyance, Apathy, Anxiety, Awe, Boredom, Compassion, Complacency, Contempt, Curiosity, Depression, Desire, Despair, Disappointment, Disgust, Ecstasy, Ego, Empathy, Envy, Embarrassment, Euphoria, Fear, Frustration, Gratitude, Greed, Grief, Guilt, Happiness, Hatred, Hope, Horror, Hostility, Hysteria, Interest, Jealousy, Loathing, Love, Lust, Pity, Pride, Rage, Regret, Remorse, Sadness, Shame, Suffering, Surprise, Wonder and Worry.

There are however, several conspicuous emotions that habitually distort the objective processing and evaluation of acquired knowledge and as unfortunate as it may be, problematic emotions such as desire (obsession to have, own, or control) and greed are rapidly evolving to the uppermost level of the emotional food chain. Some of the most persuasive emotions are:

Love - both exhilarates and motivates - often causes us to make irrational decisions - The concept of love is subjective and different for every person and situation. Love may be the prime emotion, transcending all others. When a person experiences the loss of a loved one, the emotion turns to sorrow. When an individual feels scorned, jealous or rejected, the emotion can turn to hate. On the positive side, feelings of love can also inspire one to do great things.

Desire - sense of longing for a person, an object or hoping for an outcome - Love and desire are oftentimes intermingled. Human desire is sometimes considered the fundamental motivation of all human action. Desire can create fantasy as we imagine having that which we desire; the power of our imagination is such that these states of reverie are so pleasant that they sometimes replace and become our reality. Desire can also be stimulated to induce individuals to buy a given product or service or to do any number things they shouldn’t. Too often people desire (want or long for) material possession that are beyond their personal or company’s financial means.

Lust - an indescribable force that causes people to do ineffable things. It opaques the mind, the senses become more awake, but the conscience remains asleep. Lust often creates abnormal desires in competent and moral individuals, distorting their behavior which frequently results in momentary decisions that are contrary to their usual perspicacity.

Greed - self-serving desire for the pursuit of money, wealth, power or other possessions, especially when this denies the same things to others - Some desire to increase or maintain one's wealth is nearly universal and acceptable in any culture, but this simple want is not considered greed. Greed is the excessive form of this desire. It is the opposite emotion to fear, in that it makes many people do things they wouldn’t or shouldn’t normally do. The abstract notion of greed has advanced the flourishing of individualism, narcissism, ego, materialism, pursuit of self, wealth and status, but nothing that moves the masses together.

Fear - of failure or not fitting in, a response to threats and danger - Fear stops people from doing things that might be too risky. Conversely, sometimes people take too much risk for fear they may loose their job or an important client.

Ego - egocentric- self centered - an exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit - Irrational self-esteem often manifest into jeopardous reasoning. An inordinate sum of self-esteem often impedes people from knowing their own limitations and gauging their own competence. This illusion of competence often causes them to make decisions and take on tasks that exceed their capabilities.

Jealousy/Envy - resentful or envious desire for another's possessions – Jealousy also refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety that occur when a person believes a valued relationship is being threatened by a rival.

Complacency - a feel good emotion – People fail to act or make proper decisions because there are irrationally happy with the way things are, or they illogically perceive that “it has always worked before, so we’re sure it will work this time.”

Hate - an intense emotion expressing animosity, anger, and hostility toward a person, group, or object – Hatred is a basic force and can adversely aid in the fashioning of a person’s reality, shaping their life. The inability to control anger or hatred neutralizes objectivity, therefore, impeding one’s ability to make rational decisions.

Intellectual Intelligence IQ vs. Emotional Intelligence EQ

The intelligence quotient, or IQ, used to be considered as a strong indicator of the level of success one could attain in life. The standard IQ test measures general intellectual aptitude, including abilities such as logic and reasoning skills, reading, writing, and analyzing. Research, however, soon proved that the IQ cannot predict academic and professional performance as completely as once had been thought. Hence, a relatively new area of psychological research developed that was subsequently designated as emotional intelligence quotient, also known as the EQ.

Emotional intelligence describes an ability, capacity or skill to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups, the ability to empathize and work with others, and manage under stress. IQ seldom changes while EQ can change through self-discipline or a profound experience. Nonetheless, they function in tandem and are both important to personal development, success and the making of prudent judgments and conclusions.

If IQ defines how intellectually competent you are, EQ determines how you use that blessing. Individuals with high EQ's are said to more adapt at processing information, applying knowledge, and changing preferences. People with high IQ's but low EQ's can sometimes sabotage themselves because they are unable to relate to their peers, handle stress constructively and sometimes find emotional connections difficult to maintain.

It should not be construed, however, that EQ is more important than IQ when it comes to general cognitive ability. Emotional and social skills give people advantages in realms where such abilities make the most difference in occupations such as sales, customer service as well as managers and in domains where intellect matters less for success. One’s intelligence quotient is considerably more important for pursuits requiring special intellect, for example, a mathematician or scientist. A high IQ can also be of considerable benefit to heads of state providing they’re emotionally balanced.

IQ actually stands as a proxy for the cognitive complexity a person can process. IQ becomes dependent on EQ when it comes to predicting who among a talented pool of equivalent IQ candidates will potentially become the strongest leader.

As a point of interest, one’s intelligence quotient or IQ is not necessarily indicative of attained education level, but there is a strong correlation between IQ scores and total years of education. Of course, it may not be IQ itself that is responsible for these effects, but rather the encouragement or opportunities given to individuals with high IQ’s. Many scholars argue that intelligence is inherent, whereas knowledge (education) is acquired. This may help to explain, in part, why significant sums of capable college graduates only possess moderate IQ’s. It also helps to elucidate for what reason numerous individuals with little or no formal education demonstrate surprising analytical prowess.

Self-deception and misrepresentation of the truth

There are a lot of arguments about the definition of EQ, disagreements with regard to both terminology and constructive application. In fact there’s been considerable dispute about what emotions really are. Emotions also raise normative questions about the extent to which they can be said to be based on, or derived from reasoning. In that regard the question of our knowledge and our emotions is especially problematic, as it seems they are both the objects of our most immediate awareness and perhaps the most powerful source of our capacity for self-deception.

Self-deception is the acquisition and maintenance of a belief in the face of strong evidence to the contrary. Self-deception is motivated by desires or other emotions favoring the acquisition and retention of that belief. It occurs because we often see the world the way we would like it to be, rather than the way it is. Our brains so long for things the way we want them. Self-deception represents an obstacle to self-knowledge, which can have potentially serious moral implications; it can make us strangers to ourselves (our potentials, feelings, or motives) and blind to our own failings of ethics. A common example would be that of a parent who believes his child is telling the truth even though the objective evidence strongly supports the claim that the child is obviously lying. The parent, it is said, deceives himself into believing the child because the parent loves his offspring and desires that the child tell the truth.

We are all unavoidably guilty of self-deception especially in the sphere of our religious and political reasoning. In religion, once there is a desire to believe the mystical and spiritual doctrines of a particular religion, the mind is ripe for self-deception. The emotions of grief, despair, remorse, fear, and desire often bring about or enhance one’s unconditional acceptance of religious beliefs even though many of these same religious beliefs (which are simply through “unquestioning” faith) are at odds with objectively accurate standards of judgment and rational thought; thus, the process by which many religious convictions come about is one of self-deception.

Likewise, too many of our politicians and their politically oriented core constituency are capable of convincing themselves that the truth is what they desire it to be without regard for hard evidence. If you can make yourself believe the untruth, for example, by marshaling evidence that supports your view and ignoring testimony that contradicts your position, it becomes that much easier to persuade others (this may well have been the case in the garnering of support for the Second Gulf War).

In conjunction with self-deception, half-truths are an inescapable part of politics. The reputation of a political candidate can be irreparably damaged if he or she is exposed in a lie, so a complex style of language has evolved to minimize the chance of this happening. If someone has not said something, they cannot be accused of lying. As a consequence, politics has become a world where half-truths are expected, and political statements are only accepted at face value by core constituency. Half-truths come in several forms of deceptive statements that include some element of truth. The statement might be partly true or it may be totally true but only part of the whole truth, or it may utilize some deceptive element, such as improper punctuation, or double meaning, especially if the intent is to deceive, evade blame or misrepresent the truth.

The more the electorate expects from the politicians they elect, the more likely it is that politicians will manipulate and be economical with the truth. The problem with always telling the truth at any level is that much of what happens in the world is made possible by lies; moreover, much of the world’s populace is actively opposed to hearing truth if it’s in opposition to their beliefs. When the truth conflicts with a person’s belief (especially in religion and politics), they usually don’t assimilate it. They just can’t grasp opposing ideologies regardless of how completely these concepts are supported by fact.

Dismayingly, countless decisions are made daily based on self-deception and/or the misrepresentation of the truth. Even though on the surface they often appear as unsound choices or resolutions, it is not by virtue of the decision maker’s lack of intelligence, but owing to his distorted beliefs or his inclination to be surreptitiously deceptive.

Conclusion

We all face decisions every day. Some are trivial, yet many have a profound impact on our lives as well as others. Life is full of decisions; the concept that we are confronted with decisions emphasizes our truly unique gift of free will.

The act of deciding can sometimes be an unpleasant and formidable task. Many of our decisions are conflicting and confusing. The challenging part is to pick a solution where the positive outcome outweighs counterproductive consequences. Many of us often try to avoid a decision which is the easy way out, but in reality making decisions and accepting the result of our actions is one of the best ways to control our time, achievements, and life.

Some decisions are importunate requiring immediate consideration while others might not be as crucial. There are also times when necessary courses of action need not be decided. In certain situations, after considering all the implications carefully, it’s entirely possible to conclude the best solution (which is a decision) is to do nothing. In the end though, when making any assessments or conclusions, every effort should be made to be as objective as humanly possible, unhindered by personal feelings and emotional biases.

As a final observation with respect to decision making, it should be explicitly understood that even though this editorial underscores why intelligent and educated people make faultily decisions, it’s far more likely a learned person will possess both a higher IQ and EQ and make better consequential decisions than a person having fewer formal educational credentials. People of every academic stratum are emotionally influenced and eminently capable of bad decisions; however, scholarly people are usually (in all probability) better informed and presumably have superior cognitive abilities, enhancing their chances of making better and more constructive assessments and evaluations with regard to complex decisions.
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The informational sources for this article were excerpts and opinions from scores of Internet Web Sites as well as citations from individual narratives and television documentaries.

This article in whole should be construed as the opinion of its originator; however, in all probability it’s shared at least in part by others. It goes without question that some of the details outlined above will conflict with the understanding of a number of people.

In the event that someone might wish to share his or her comments or add additional input as to accuracy of this topic, please feel free to respond through the "comment” link at the end of this article or e-mail Denman Collins (historiography101 AT yahoo .com).



“Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used”
-----------Dr. Carl Sagan, world-renowned astrophysicist, a professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University

“You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe”
-----------Dr. Carl Sagan