Basketball, Fast and Slow
In Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow, he speaks to the two systems by which our thinking operates. System 1 (thinking fast), “operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control”[1](20). System 2 (thinking slow), “allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations.”[2](21) Even further, Kahneman says that our ability to think is limited by our ability to “pay attention”. Arguing that each of us is limited by a “budget of attention” that we can “allocate to activities, and if you try to go beyond your budget, you will fail.”[3](23)
One area that my mind used to illustrate Kahneman’s ideas was, oddly, my experience playing basketball. When I started playing in college, I was very bad. I understood the point of the game, but was still unfamiliar with the mechanics and the nuances of the game. I would go out and play games of one-on-one to 11 with my roommate at the time. The first few times we played, I couldn’t score more than one or two points at most. Being bad bothered me, so I asked him to play every day it was sunny. We lived in La Jolla, CA. I don’t think I won a single game for the first 4 or 5 months.
Losing didn’t deter me. I loved the opportunity to get better and took every such opportunity to improve my dribbling, shooting, and other skills. As time passed, I found that I started to think less about the mechanics of the game when I was playing. I could look up when I dribbled the ball and I didn’t have to think about which foot I was jumping off of for my layups. These actions that Kahneman would have described as “effortful” were becoming more like second nature to me. I was in a sense recognizing that I wasn’t good at basketball because I was operating entirely out of system 2. Every thought and action was taking too much effort, so I either couldn’t process all that was happening or I did it too slowly. As I was able to build repetitions, I found that I was able to move system 2 thoughts and actions in to system 1 through the development of skills.
In many ways, I think this is how I approach my life. I find that I’m equally driven by two motivating factors: first that I’m competitive, and secondly, I’m lazy. At first they seem at odds with one another, but Kahneman helped me to realize that they are not. His assertion that while “there are several ways of achieving the same goal, people will eventually gravitate to the least demanding course of action”[4](28) is spot on. But I don’t think this type of laziness is a bad thing. If I have more of my attention budget free, I can allocate it, along with my effort, more efficiently. Continuing my basketball metaphor, if I’ve developed foundational skills, I can free my mind to play the game within the game of creating moves and counter moves, reading my opponents (or in Kahneman’s words understanding what others are capable of[5]), and analyzing whether my plan of attack really is going to work. It seems like there might be an optimal allocation between using our two systems of thought: one that helps us to operate as quickly and efficiently as possible while allowing room to consider different possibilities.
In terms of leadership, I think this is an interesting idea. Leadership is often thought of as the optimization of output and productivity. As a result, everyone is specialized and becomes extremely efficient in a narrow subset of skills. The problem, as Edwin Friedman puts it, is that we begin to lack adventure.[6] We’re so focused on getting more done with the least amount of effort that all we can do is answer the questions that already exist. Or even worse, maybe “when faced with a difficult question, we often answer an easier one instead, usually without noticing the substitution.”[7] There is a need to consider the balance between working efficiently by developing skills that broaden our use of system 1 while simultaneously allocating part of our attention budget to consider different (or the right) questions through system 2 thinking.
[1] Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2011). 20.
[2] Ibid, 21
[3] Ibid, 23
[4] Ibid, 28
[5] Ibid, 260
[6] Friedman, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix (10th Anniversary, Revised Edition) (Church Publishing, Inc., 2017). 14.
[7] Kahneman, 48.
About the Author
Caleb Lu
8 responses to “Basketball, Fast and Slow”
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Hey Caleb,
Well, this may come as no surprise to you, but when I saw the title of your post, I was like “Caleb, you had me at Basketball. This is a must-read.” Your basketball analogy was brilliant. I had not made the connection with the mind’s laziness being a good thing, because once you master something (i.e. the fundamentals of basketball), it becomes second nature (system 1), and mental effort can be re-allocated to other areas of mental focus (system 2).
Also, if Sunday afternoon basketball is still happening, I’ll see you on the court! My system 1 and 2 will be ready.
Gentleman, bring your kicks and your game faces to Cambridge next year. It sounds like we’ve got some hoopers in our cohort. I’m down for a game anytime and look forward to assessing your system one and system two skills!
Caleb, great post and connections to the thought process. I really enjoyed the “attention budget” line. I feel like so many things compete for our attention, we can easily become attention drained. When applied to skills like hoops, I agree with you that as your skills change, your thinking does too.
You mentioned losing didn’t deter you, but also said you were competitive. So, did emotions come into play when losing? Do emotions help or hurt your game?
Emotions do a little bit of both. They can add motivation to do better and a little more intensity. It can also completely cloud my judgment and throw any semblance of system 2 thinking out the window. I was fortunate I think to have begun in a safe space of playing one on one with my friend. Losing in that context creates a little more of the emotion that can be used positively. Losing against random people who aren’t as encouraging or might trash talk can produce the kinds of emotions that get out of hand quickly.
Caleb,
I enjoyed how you tied Kahneman’s systems of thinking to playing basketball. I think with anything we learn to do very well, from beginner to more seasoned, we move from system 2 to system 1 thinking.
I also think that it can be very discouraging at the start, as you move from novice to more advanced levels of ability. This is because, as you pointed out, there’s so much defeat. What kept you going mentally? A lot of people would have just given up.
Thanks for your post! You’re a brilliant writer!
Honestly, part of why I wasn’t beaten down was because the stakes were low. Part of it probably is a little bit of pride at the time in thinking that there’s no way I could be bad. And another part was seeing that my friend was still willing to play with me every single day; I can’t imagine it was particularly fun for him.
Hey Caleb,
Great connection to basketball and how we operate with fast and slow thinking. Great tie to Friedman with how we can become narrow in our expertise. This made me think of the need for different skill sets on a team. How might our fast and slow thinking help or hinder how we cooperate on a team?
Hey Caleb, when I read your title, I thought more about the speed of a basketball game verses the speed of baseball game. My husband and I were recently talking about how much energy it takes to watch and engage a basketball game. The action is non-stop. I think that simply highlights the differences in fast and slow thinking. In basketball, your moves have to be automatic, instinctive. The game moves too quickly for much else. In baseball, the pitcher takes his time to wind up and get ready for the perfect pitch. The game is more slow and methodical. Learning to navigate the two ways of thinking is the challenge.
You had me at basketball! I often think… If only I had some of these skills that I do now when I was a teen! However, the result of my now better but not great game is practice.
As always you are brilliant writer that made connections flawlessly.