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Bottom line Quote by Daniel Kahneman

“Now that you have measured the lines, you—your System 2, the conscious being you call “I”—have a new belief: you know that the lines are equally long. If asked about their length, you will say what you know. But you still see the bottom line as longer. You have chosen to believe the measurement…” quote by Daniel Kahneman
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““Now that you have measured the lines, you—your System 2, the conscious being you call “I”—have a new belief: you know that the lines are equally long. If asked about their length, you will say what you know. But you still see the bottom line as longer. You have chosen to believe the measurement, but you cannot prevent System 1 from doing its thing; you cannot decide to see the lines as equal, although you know they are. To resist the illusion, there is only one thing you can do: you must learn to mistrust your impressions of the length of lines when fins are attached to them.””

Daniel Kahneman

About This Quote

Source Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2011

Our conscious mind can accept facts, yet intuitive perception may contradict them, leading to persistent illusion.

In simple terms: Mind knows truth but still feels otherwise.

Key Takeaway

Question intuition with evidence.

Themes

cognition perception bias mindfulness

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

philosophical psychological

When to use this quote

  • visual perception
  • design evaluation
  • decision making

Key Concepts

System 1 System 2 illusion confidence

Questions to Reflect On

  • How can you train yourself to trust data over gut feeling?
  • When does intuition serve you well?
A Different Perspective

Intuition can dominate despite rational knowledge.

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