John M. Coates Quotes
hubris syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by recklessness, an inattention to detail, overwhelming self-confidence and contempt for others; all of which, he observes, “can result in disastrous leadership and cause damage on a large scale.” The syndrome, he continues, “is a . . . Read more

-John M. Coates
Yet of this massive flow of information no more than about 40 bits per second actually reaches consciousness. We are, in other words, conscious of only a trivial slice of all the information coming into the brain for processing.

-John M. Coates
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good judgment may require the ability to listen carefully to feedback from the body.

-John M. Coates
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thought itself is best understood as planning; even higher forms of thought, such as philosophy, the epitome of disembodied speculation, proceed, they argue, by hijacking algorithms originally developed to help us plan movements.

-John M. Coates
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As George Loewenstein, an economist at Carnegie Mellon, points out, “There is little evidence beyond fallible introspection supporting the standard assumption of complete volitional control of behavior.

-John M. Coates
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Consciousness, these experiments suggested, is merely a bystander observing a decision already taken, almost like watching ourselves on video.

-John M. Coates
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The brain stem, often called the reptile brain, controls automatic processes such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, etc. The cerebellum stores physical skills and fast behavioral reactions; it also contributes to dexterity, balance and coordination. The hypothalamus controls h . . . Read more

-John M. Coates
Remember this rule,” advises Kahneman: “Intuition cannot be trusted in the absence of stable regularities in the environment.

-John M. Coates
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