Instincts in the Face of Limited or No Information

As humans, we tend to be meticulous and calculative about a lot of things. I think we've become more like that in today's world, where you have to be sure to some extent about some important things you do. Leaving it to chance or probability isn't always a welcome or encouraged idea. People want to be certain about the things they're going into or expending their efforts on, hence the need for some sort of information before going on.

However, can we say that's always the case? No. There's a thing known as instincts which we all as humans have. It's in a way the opposite of being certain about a thing before moving on. Instincts tell you to move on, with little information or no certainty about an intended outcome. It's that within which says to go ahead, and you just do so with some hope that it will bring the intended results. Do humans act based on instincts? Of course.

I believe that humans act based on instincts, as much as we would have loved to always do so out of certainty. I dare to say even that some of the research and analysis we do before embarking on some things tends to boil down to our instincts in the end. In some cases though, especially when a person is still sceptical about the data or information. And as a person who values certainty, I can't help but say that instincts have made the call sometimes.

There are times I don't have the liberty, privilege and maybe resources to make a decision based upon necessary and helpful information. With limited and possible absence of that information, I turn to instincts, to my guts, to go ahead or not. At times, it's a yes. Other times, it's a no. Either way, the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ from trusting my instincts have both been beautifully and regretfully rewarding. Well, that's the thing with trusting your guts.

Perhaps, we can say that instincts are there to help in cases when one has little or no information, and maybe limited time, yet they have to make a decision. Instincts have helped me at some points and in some situations. It has also made regret why I trusted it at other times or situations. It has caused me some financial losses, or losses in time, opportunities, resources and in other human endeavours.

We tend to employ instincts also when dealing with people. That's why we could barely know some people enough but we decide to give them the benefit of doubts on opportunities and even our friendliness. I think it's okay to say that we employ instincts in many things more than we could imagine, especially when they have to do with people. We don't go around sizing people, but we relate to them from instincts, and of course from the impressions they give.

In cases where we have some information, we walk by that. But instincts do go wrong, in different ways. We could perceive people as negative or positive, only to have them prove us otherwise. As much as we tend to do some things through instincts, we should choose to be certain, in critical cases, especially life-defining choices. Instincts alone don't suffice for such cases or situations. That's where a level of information or certainty is necessary for me.

Images are AI generated.

Thank you for reading!