At one end of the thinking spectrum are mechanisms that have great computational power. But this great computational power comes with a cost. It is a slower process of thinking and requires a great deal of concentration. At the opposite end of the thinking spectrum are mechanisms with very little computational power; they require very little concentration and permit quick decisions. “Humans are cognitive misers,” writes Stanovich, “because our basic tendency is to default to the processing mechanisms that require less computational effort, even if they are less accurate.”4
