Instinct eats intellect for breakfast. You not only wrote it, you made it precise and beautiful and eloquent. You are a shining example of the ability to blend the two spheres of human function. i’d love to hear a follow up to this that addresses the phenomena where our somatic instincts are misfiring, giving us threat signals that are entirely generated from the past and unwarranted in the present moment. How do we tell the difference between the two?
Thank you for this wonderful reflection, Rick! You've touched on such a fascinating question—the distinction between past-based threat responses and present-moment intuition. I might actually tackle this next—your question really highlights an important complexity I didn't fully explore here, and there is a lot of fertile ground to cover. Really appreciate both the kind comment and the help finding my next essay topic ◡̈
Indeed so remarkable: "Remarkably, our capacity for bodily simulation extends in two directions: forward into possible futures and outward into the experiences of others."
I just admire the seeming ease, elegance and attuned wisdom with which you put your pieces together, Rachel.
Thank you, Brigitte! And since you've seen these pieces evolve from their messiest drafts, you know exactly how many revisions it takes to find that clarity ◡̈ Your editorial eye always helps me sharpen these connections between science and story.
Well, Rachel and I share a similar interest in several subject areas, and I believe we both appreciate the mutual feedback and editorial input. Completely independent of me, she has an incredibly confident touch when it comes to analyzing the (complex) topics she tackles, in combination with her wonderful prose!
Rachel, I've never read anything that comes close to the absolute brilliance you display in this examination of body wisdom vs. the limits of rational thought. Even our individual *cells* have this innate ability, something I never knew.
Your second-to-last paragraph *alone* is a wonderfully versed look at this phenomenon. I hope to remember this essay whenever my body lightly taps on my rational brain and reminds me to "trust my gut." If it worked for Huck, it can work for anyone.
Thank you for this incredibly generous comment, Larry! Yes, that delicate interplay between our rational minds and body wisdom continues to fascinate me. Our bodies are such wonderfully complex mysteries. Really appreciate you taking the time to read and share your perspective on this piece.
I always thought of this somatic response as intuition. I love your deeper explanation of it. By the way, have you read "James"? I think you might find it interesting given the connection to Huck Finn.
Thanks so much, Claire! It really is fascinating. No, I haven't read "James", is the the one by Percival Everett? Would love to check it out, thanks for the recommendation!
Rachel, yet another great job on this fascinating subject, one that has interested me for years. I am also very eager to read the next essay that will address Rick's question of past traumatic events that continue to cause the same neural reactions when we encounter similar circumstances years or even decades later. I love you sweet daughter and am so proud of you!
I love seeing how you connect science or philosophy or history to a work of fiction so that we see in that work, for just a moment, something we hadn't seen before. Beautiful writing, Rachel
This is wonderful, Rachel. So fascinating to have gone from looking at a single cell under the microscope in your opening to such an intelligent and insightful discussion of one of American literature’s most famous characters.
With the “as-if body loop”, do you think readers, perhaps fiction readers in particular, make greater use of this? Do their neural systems fire more often and does this increase the chances of their feeling empathy for others?
Thanks, Simon! Great question—I've heard about studies showing fiction readers tend to be more empathetic, but I never considered how this could be the actual mechanism behind it. It makes total sense that stories would give us so many opportunities to experience different perspectives. Appreciate you reading, and now you have my wheels turning!
P.S. I've really been enjoying your six word stories!
Thanks Rachel, glad to have helped put those wheels in motion! After I commented, I thought that perhaps I was wrong to zoom in on fiction readers. I think you’re right, the key word is “stories”. Readers of non-fiction stories may in fact (I don’t know) have even greater capacity for empathy.
Thank you for your kind words about my Six-Word Stories! It’s probably stretching it a bit to describe some of them as “stories”, but they’re fun to write.
Thank you, Karl! Yes, you and Rick have both touched on such an important distinction–how our bodies sometimes erroneously conflate present situations with past experiences. I think I'll explore this intersection between instinct and intuition in my next essay. Really appreciate you bringing this perspective to the conversation!
Instinct eats intellect for breakfast. You not only wrote it, you made it precise and beautiful and eloquent. You are a shining example of the ability to blend the two spheres of human function. i’d love to hear a follow up to this that addresses the phenomena where our somatic instincts are misfiring, giving us threat signals that are entirely generated from the past and unwarranted in the present moment. How do we tell the difference between the two?
Thank you for this wonderful reflection, Rick! You've touched on such a fascinating question—the distinction between past-based threat responses and present-moment intuition. I might actually tackle this next—your question really highlights an important complexity I didn't fully explore here, and there is a lot of fertile ground to cover. Really appreciate both the kind comment and the help finding my next essay topic ◡̈
Wohoo. Essays by request! Love it and can’t wait!
Love this, Rick—and yes, what a perfect next essay topic!
Haha! Your timing was perfect, as I was just beginning to wonder what to tackle next.
Indeed so remarkable: "Remarkably, our capacity for bodily simulation extends in two directions: forward into possible futures and outward into the experiences of others."
I just admire the seeming ease, elegance and attuned wisdom with which you put your pieces together, Rachel.
Thank you, Brigitte! And since you've seen these pieces evolve from their messiest drafts, you know exactly how many revisions it takes to find that clarity ◡̈ Your editorial eye always helps me sharpen these connections between science and story.
Brigitte, apparently you had a hand in this absolutely brilliant essay. Bravo to you for being a part of this!!
Yes, Brigitte is my brainstorm/feedback buddy and is very generous to me with her help!
Well, Rachel and I share a similar interest in several subject areas, and I believe we both appreciate the mutual feedback and editorial input. Completely independent of me, she has an incredibly confident touch when it comes to analyzing the (complex) topics she tackles, in combination with her wonderful prose!
Rachel, I've never read anything that comes close to the absolute brilliance you display in this examination of body wisdom vs. the limits of rational thought. Even our individual *cells* have this innate ability, something I never knew.
Your second-to-last paragraph *alone* is a wonderfully versed look at this phenomenon. I hope to remember this essay whenever my body lightly taps on my rational brain and reminds me to "trust my gut." If it worked for Huck, it can work for anyone.
Thank you for this incredibly generous comment, Larry! Yes, that delicate interplay between our rational minds and body wisdom continues to fascinate me. Our bodies are such wonderfully complex mysteries. Really appreciate you taking the time to read and share your perspective on this piece.
I always thought of this somatic response as intuition. I love your deeper explanation of it. By the way, have you read "James"? I think you might find it interesting given the connection to Huck Finn.
Thanks so much, Claire! It really is fascinating. No, I haven't read "James", is the the one by Percival Everett? Would love to check it out, thanks for the recommendation!
Rachel, yet another great job on this fascinating subject, one that has interested me for years. I am also very eager to read the next essay that will address Rick's question of past traumatic events that continue to cause the same neural reactions when we encounter similar circumstances years or even decades later. I love you sweet daughter and am so proud of you!
Thanks Mom! Yes, I’m excited to write that essay. I thought it was a great idea. Deep in research mode now ◡̈
I love seeing how you connect science or philosophy or history to a work of fiction so that we see in that work, for just a moment, something we hadn't seen before. Beautiful writing, Rachel
Thank you so much, Maribeth. That means the world coming from you ◡̈
This is wonderful, Rachel. So fascinating to have gone from looking at a single cell under the microscope in your opening to such an intelligent and insightful discussion of one of American literature’s most famous characters.
With the “as-if body loop”, do you think readers, perhaps fiction readers in particular, make greater use of this? Do their neural systems fire more often and does this increase the chances of their feeling empathy for others?
Thanks, Simon! Great question—I've heard about studies showing fiction readers tend to be more empathetic, but I never considered how this could be the actual mechanism behind it. It makes total sense that stories would give us so many opportunities to experience different perspectives. Appreciate you reading, and now you have my wheels turning!
P.S. I've really been enjoying your six word stories!
Thanks Rachel, glad to have helped put those wheels in motion! After I commented, I thought that perhaps I was wrong to zoom in on fiction readers. I think you’re right, the key word is “stories”. Readers of non-fiction stories may in fact (I don’t know) have even greater capacity for empathy.
Thank you for your kind words about my Six-Word Stories! It’s probably stretching it a bit to describe some of them as “stories”, but they’re fun to write.
Our bodies can interpret a new situation as the same as an old dangerous one if enough markers from the previous dangerous one are present.
That notwithstanding it was a beautifully presented idea. Maybe a different than what I'm referring to.
Thank you, Karl! Yes, you and Rick have both touched on such an important distinction–how our bodies sometimes erroneously conflate present situations with past experiences. I think I'll explore this intersection between instinct and intuition in my next essay. Really appreciate you bringing this perspective to the conversation!
Really enjoyed this one!
Thanks ◡̈
Brilliant. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading!