Misunderstood: The Promethean Circuits of the Prefrontal Cortex

I found this article via BoingBoing. The experiment mentioned in the article brings up some interesting points about human behavior and the relative imbalance we seem to have between satisfying our animalistic urges, i.e., immediate gratification, and obeying our rational, disciplined selves. It seems the animal urges win out more often than is ... optimal.

My own theory has been that there are two basic kinds of people. (Of course there are!) One kind leads with their heart (that would be my wife), and the other kind leads with their head. That would be me. There's nothing inherently wrong with either approach, it's just that you need to match the bias to the situation.

Don't marry someone just because you think they will satisfy your emotional needs. Of course, that happens rather too frequently, to much regret and gnashing of teeth, later on. For this particular situation, both your heart and your head absolutely must be in agreement. It's all right to use your heart when choosing a movie for the evening. Or a wine to share with someone you love. But when it comes to decisions with lasting implications, it may be best to leave your heart off the list at the big people's table.

I want to make an observation, however. Life sucks. And the general level of suckage is increasing. And that's not just because I'm getting older, either. So, given that there's an ever dwindling level of "feel good" in our lives, can you really blame us for wanting to take the easy way out? Here's my point. I am considering trading in my 15 year mortgage on a 30 year loan just so I can put more disposable income in my pocket now. While I can spend it and not be hobbling around--or worse. Sure, I am well on my way to full home ownership in about 10 years, but I'm also thinking how much less I am going to like not having a mortgage payment when I'm 60-ish. Of course it doesn't quite make sense, but that points us to my final point: It's very hard to judge the level of "betterness" we might have in the future, against the much more tangible level of betterness we could almost certainly have in the present. We could die tomorrow. Then where would we be?

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. Indeed.