Bless Our (Irrational) Hearts
Picture this: You’re riding a massive elephant through the jungle. You’re holding the reins, sitting up tall, thinking, I am in control. But suddenly, the elephant sees a peanut stand, veers off the path, and barrels toward it—despite your desperate pulling and yelling.
This is the classic “rider and the elephant” analogy, made famous by psychologist Jonathan Haidt. The elephant represents our emotions, instincts, and subconscious desires—the ancient, powerful part of our brain that has been in charge for eons. The rider, perched on top, is our prefrontal cortex—the newer, rational part of our brain that tries (and often fails) to steer our decisions with logic.
The truth? Our inner rider has only recently learned how to hold the reins. In the grand timeline of human evolution, we’ve spent far more time as emotional, reactionary creatures than as thoughtful, logical beings. In other words, we’re toddlers when it comes to rational thinking.
So, when did we start developing this rational brain, and why? Buckle up (or hold on to your elephant), because we’re about to take a ride through time.
A Timeline of Our Brain’s Evolution
To understand why humans are so often irrational, we need to look at where we came from. Let’s break it down:
1. 500 million years ago – The Lizard Brain Takes the Wheel
Our earliest ancestors had what scientists call the “reptilian brain,” which controlled survival instincts—fight, flight, feed, and reproduce. This part of the brain, mostly housed in the brainstem, is still in charge of our gut reactions, fear responses, and that weird thing we do when we freeze in awkward situations.
🐘 Elephant Power: Imagine an elephant that bolts at the first sign of trouble. There’s no deep thinking here—just raw instinct.
2. 200 million years ago – Enter the Emotional Brain
With the rise of mammals, our brains developed the limbic system, which allowed for emotions, social bonding, and more complex behaviors. This is why we (and other mammals) can feel love, loyalty, and fear of public speaking.
🐘 Elephant Evolution: Now, the elephant doesn’t just run from danger—it also remembers. It holds grudges, forms attachments, and decides which peanut vendor it prefers.
3. 2 million years ago – The Early Homo Brain (Still Pretty Wild)
When our early ancestors, like Homo habilis and Homo erectus, started using tools and fire, their brains grew significantly. But most of their thinking was still intuitive and automatic, with little conscious reflection. Survival instincts still reigned supreme.
🐘 Elephant Wins Again: The rider is there, but he’s mostly just along for the ride, waving a stick and hoping for the best.
4. 300,000 years ago – Homo sapiens Arrive (Still Not That Smart)
Our species, Homo sapiens, evolved with larger brains and better problem-solving skills. We started developing early language, art, and social structures. However, rational thinking was still a side gig. Most of our decisions were made emotionally and then justified later—just like today.
🐘 The Rider is Born! But he’s still scrawny and not very persuasive. The elephant barely listens.
5. 70,000 years ago – The Cognitive Revolution (Our Inner Rider Gets Stronger)
Something changed around this time—possibly the development of more complex language and abstract thinking. We started telling stories, strategizing, and planning for the future. For the first time, our rider had a real voice.
🐘 Finally, Some Teamwork: The elephant still leads most of the time, but the rider can occasionally whisper, “Hey, maybe let’s not charge into that lion’s den.”
6. 10,000 years ago – Agriculture and Civilization (Logic Takes a Baby Step)
Farming and settlements forced humans to think long-term. Writing, math, and government structures appeared, demanding more logical decision-making. But for the most part, emotions, superstitions, and social pressures still dominated.
🐘 The Rider Tries to Take Control: But in a world ruled by emotions, tradition, and gut feelings, he’s still struggling to be heard.
7. 500 Years Ago – The Scientific Revolution (The Rider Hits the Gym)
With figures like Galileo, Newton, and Descartes, we began relying more on observation, evidence, and logic. Science started winning battles against superstition. The rider got a real boost in strength.
🐘 A More Disciplined Elephant: The elephant still has its wild moments, but for the first time, it’s learning to pause and listen.
8. Today – Still Learning to Think Logically
Despite all our technological advancements, our brains are still wired for emotion-first decision-making. Marketing, politics, and social media exploit this, appealing to our gut reactions rather than our reasoning. Critical thinking is still not our default mode—it’s a skill that must be trained.
🐘 The Struggle Continues: The rider has never been stronger, but the elephant is still, well, an elephant.
Why Are We Still So Irrational?
Even though we have a powerful prefrontal cortex, our older brain structures are still calling a lot of the shots. The elephant reacts emotionally first, and the rider often just rationalizes the decision afterward.
Think about how often we:
Make impulse purchases and then convince ourselves they were “investments.”
Get angry and later justify why it was totally reasonable.
Believe something because it feels true, even when evidence says otherwise.
Our logical brain evolved late in the game, and it’s still playing catch-up.
How to Train Your Inner Rider
We may never fully tame our emotional elephant, but we can get better at guiding it. Here’s how:
Pause Before Reacting – When you feel a strong emotion, wait before acting. Let your rider get a word in.
Ask, “What’s the Evidence?” – Don’t just trust your gut; make the elephant prove its point.
Seek Disconfirming Evidence – Challenge your own beliefs. If you only look for information that confirms what you already think, you’re letting the elephant run wild.
Think in Percentages, Not Absolutes – The world is rarely black and white. Train your brain to consider probabilities.
Practice Metacognition – This fancy word just means “thinking about your thinking.” The more aware you are of your brain’s tendencies, the more control you’ll have.
Final Thought: We’re Still Kids in the Logic Game
If you ever get frustrated by human irrationality, just remember: we’ve only had a fully developed prefrontal cortex for a few hundred thousand years, and we’ve only been seriously practicing critical thinking for about 500 years. Compared to our long history of instinct-driven decision-making, we’re still in our logical infancy.
So next time you catch yourself making an emotional decision, don’t be too hard on yourself. Just take a deep breath, grab the reins, and gently remind your elephant who’s really in charge.
(Or at least, who should be.) 🐘🎠