Logic doesn't come easily to humans, but it is possible to go beyond your gut reactions – if you practise
We like to think of ourselves as rational and logical creatures. And so we can be – but not without some effort.
Logical thought requires us to behave like a microprocessor, executing stepwise operations on information using the rules of logic. This doesn't come naturally to most people, requiring outside instruction to learn and lengthy training to master. Even then, we struggle to maintain a purely rational perspective.
It turns out that there is a kernel of truth in the popular wisdom that "left brain equals logic". Imaging studies have shown that the left prefrontal cortex is needed to make logical trains of thought happen and, a lot of the time, no input is needed from the right.
But when there is conflict between what ...
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