The first is that what we may think of…
The first is that what we may think of as the old, instinctual brain can easily override the new, supposedly logical brain. Anything related to survival, such as perceived danger, usually causes the old brain to kick in, which is why as soon as I felt the pushback on the door, all my probabilistic training and logical thinking vanished, and the old brain took control.
— from The Heart in the Cockpit (Emotion/Awe/Anxiety/Regret/Empathy) · Practical Uncertainty: Useful Ideas in Decision-Making, Risk, Randomness, and AI by Hossei
In the book
That second pilot is your heart — your emotions. And here is the thing no one tells you when you are young: when a feeling is strong enough, the old instinctive part of you simply overrides the new, supposedly logical part. The moment anything feels like a threat — especially a threat to how you see yourself — you stop thinking and you start reacting. — The Heart in the Cockpit (Emotion/Awe/Anxiety/Regret/Empathy)