Article 1: "I Can't Think!"

     This article is about how our brains can become overloaded, and essentially shut down the part of our brain responsible for making sensible decisions, when we are given too much information or too many options. Personally, I find that many articles assigned by professors, this one included, cause me to feel overwhelmed and overloaded by information. I found myself having to back through and read sentences over again because I couldn't process what it actually meant the first time through. 

     I can also really relate to being a "maximizer". I will admit I'm always on my iPhone, or always finding something to do on the computer when I'm bored or want to avoid homework. I've even noticed that sometimes if I'm shopping online, I will become so overwhelmed by all the things I'm interested in, how much they'd cost, what color I would choose, what kind of shipping, what discounts I can find, etc., I just choose to quit. In this case I decide not to buy anything because my mind as become overwhelmed by all the different options I have, and it's easier to not make a decision at all. 

     One part that I thought was really interesting and also kind of confusing was the part about just stepping back at times and "let your unconscious decision making system kick in". I think that the unconscious mind is a really fascinating and incredible thing to study but also a very complicated and baffling to try to understand. In my mind, it doesn't make a lot of sense at first to say that my unconscious mind is better at making a decision for me than my conscious mind, which could be making plans, weighing pros and cons, etc. But then again, that's just why the unconscious mind is so intriguing. 

    Lastly, I thought for a bit about how this concept of brain-overload will affect us as teachers, and also as current students. Often times, as aforementioned, I become bogged down by reading the assigned articles I receive from my professors. I'm also sure that as teachers someday, there will be times that we overload our students with information. Therefore, I think that it is imperative that we are aware of this issue and prepare our students with skills and strategies to use in order to avoid it. The article offers the helpful tip of removing yourself from the flood of incoming information, and allowing yourself to focus on the manageable amount of information before you.