--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In my experience, you always think you…" description: "\"In my experience, you always think you know what you're doing; you always think you can explain, but you always discover, years later, that you didn't ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/dave-hickey-19063_brain_in-my-experience-you-always-think-you-kn_863305.jpg" --- # In my experience, you always think you know what you're… ![“In my experience, you always think you know what you're doing; you always think you can explain, but you always discover, years later, that you didn't and you couldn't. This leads me to suspect that the principal function of human reason is to rationalize what your lizard brain demands of you…” quote by Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/dave-hickey-19063_brain_in-my-experience-you-always-think-you-kn_863305.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/dave-hickey-19063_brain_in-my-experience-you-always-think-you-kn_863305.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/dave-hickey-19063_brain_in-my-experience-you-always-think-you-kn_863305.jpg) > “In my experience, you always think you know what you're doing; you always think you can explain, but you always discover, years later, that you didn't and you couldn't. This leads me to suspect that the principal function of human reason is to rationalize what your lizard brain demands of you. That's my idea.” [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human reason often justifies instinctual urges rather than truly understanding actions. **In simple terms:** We rationalize our gut impulses. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions. Themes reasoning instinct self‑deception Mood skeptical introspective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - making decisions - self‑reflection - learning from mistakes Key Concepts cognitive bias psychology human behavior Questions to Reflect On - What recent belief did you later realize was rationalized? - How can you differentiate instinct from reason? A Different Perspective Rationalizations can reinforce false confidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Human reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-reason/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Art and writing come from somewhere down around the lizard brain. 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