We can think of our brain as being engaged in a constant ebb and flow between deliberate and automatic processing. Sometimes it is more of a fight between two mismatched warriors, like David and Goliath. David represents the small, nimble, and smart cognitive force that has to face a massive, primitive, noncognitive giant that is in charge most of the time. Goliath is unflagging and never sleeps. Sometimes David can win, but it is nearly impossible for him to win all the time. David can be distracted, he can be worn down, and he needs to sleep. This is not a single battle but an eternal struggle.
To better appreciate how small our David is compared to our Goliath, look at the grid in [the] Figure [below]. If this 50 × 50 grid represents the entire cognitive capacity of all the neurons of the human brain (Goliath), the single dark square represents an amount about two hundred times larger than the cognitive capacity of our conscious awareness (David).
// via Salon |
![[info]](http://klab.lv/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
