The bottom-up mind is: • faster in brain time, which operates in milliseconds • involuntary and automatic: always on • intuitive, operating through networks of association • impulsive, driven by emotions • executor of our habitual routines and guide for our actions • manager for our mental models of the world By contrast, the top-down mind is: • slower • voluntary • effortful • the seat of self-control, which can (sometimes) overpower automatic routines and mute emotionally driven impulses • able to learn new models, make new plans, and take charge of our automatic repertoire—to an extent
