Everything, Everything

Well, most of the time. In psychological research published in Current Biology, University College London found that making subconscious snap decisions is more reliable in certain situations than using rational thought processes. Admittedly, it didn't use a large set, as only ten volunteers were used, but the results sound interesting. Each person was shown a computer screen covered in over 650 identical symbols, including one rotated version of the symbol. They were then asked to state which side of the screen the rotated image was on. Given a fraction of a second to look at the screen, the subjects were 95% accurate. When they were allowed to scrutinize the image for over second, they were only 70% accurate.

The researchers said that in their test, the instinctive decisions were more likely to be correct because the subconscious brain recognised a rotated version of the same object as different from the original, whereas the conscious brain could identify the two objects as identical, albeit in different orientations. Kim Stephenson, a psychologist researching some aspects of decision-making, said subconscious reactions could be an advantage in some situations. He said people and animals were designed subconsciously to recognise and fixate on anything out of the ordinary as it could help to identify and escape from predators quickly, and so has an ecological advantage.

Dr Zhaoping agreed: "The trick is knowing when this applicable or not. Trusting your instincts is only useful in some situations."