Our brain’s energy-saving automatic system doesn’t just filter our perceptions of the world. It also streamlines our decision making by nudging us toward whichever choice requires the smallest amount of conscious effort. If there’s a plausible option already on the table, or one that doesn’t involve thinking hard about the future, or one that resonates with something we heard recently, our automatic system will say: “Fantastic! Let’s apply the ‘most obvious option = best option’ rule. No need to think further.”
