[theideasmith]

How do we bypass cognitive limits?

Can we offload rationality to our subconscious without allowing ourselves to succumb to heuristics? What are some strategies we can use for relying less on heuristics and more on logic?

How can we avoid perceptual errors which influence our judgement?

etc.

[fuqted]

We don't know our cognitive limits.

Think about how hard you mentally push yourself on a day to day. It isn't a stretch to think that cognition can be trained stronger.

Do you ever wonder what an Eagle's vision would be like if they lived inside of a 10x15 room their whole life?

> At birth, the number of synapses per neuron is 2,500, but by age two or three, it’s about 15,000 per neuron. The brain eliminates connections that are seldom or never used, which is a normal part of brain development. [0]

How much do you think the average kid, or their adult counterpart, would need to use their brain for sitting in front of the tv or working a menial job / boring school?

I believe we set our own cognitive limits and I hope that we can learn to reset them.

[0]: https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/4356e/

[hacknat]

> Can we offload rationality to our subconscious without allowing ourselves to succumb to heuristics?

An almost textbook definition of cognitive bias right there.

> How can we avoid perceptual errors which influence our judgement?

You have to work incredibly hard to achieve that. Perceptual and bias errors are the most common and difficult to find in ourselves.

My personal take is to become really good at two things: understanding when and how it is appropriate to trust in someone else's domain authority/expertise, and whatever it is you'd like to be an expert on.

Don't expect this behavior out of your fellow citizens, or even yourself, most of the time. It requires battling with some pretty strong evolutionary drives.

Frankly, cultivating humility is probably easier (which is saying something, as that's pretty difficult for most humans as well).