Reality is what we feel
Much as we like to believe we can and do use rational thought about facts to interpret the world and react to it, it is our feelings that tend to have the last word
Many years ago, I was introduced to a personality test known as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, based loosely on Carl Jung’s theory positing eight different psychological types. This has widely been demonstrated to be pseudoscience, but one of its dichotomies — thinking versus feeling — is not without relevance. While it does not remotely describe our personality, it certainly characterizes our behaviour, and in particular decision making.
A happy inconvenience
During last week’s shopping trip, as I arrived at one of the payment terminals for self-scanners, I noticed that another customer had the misfortune of undergoing The Verification Procedure. An attendant was rummaging through her trolley, searching for ten suitable items to rescan. The sample would establis whether all the goods were properly accounted for (and would be properly paid). I have to say I am a great fan of self-scanning, but the random rescan fills me with profound trepidation. It had been a good few weeks since I had last experienced this pleasure, and I was sincerely hoping today too I would…
