One of the interesting things about the brain is how different tasks and operations are performed in different parts of the brain. Some tasks can be preformed by more than one part of the brain.
When it comes to politics and economics, the inner lizard is the observer and decision maker. Since instinct governs how individuals behave in groups, the inner lizard manages those activities also. This is why with the social sciences like political science and economics a high I.Q. really places a person at no meaningful advantage. Thinking with the larger part of the brain takes a huge amount of energy. Any activity that can be left in the inner lizard conserves energy. As soon as the larger brain is activated, a person may feel tired. Intense concentration without prior conditioning is not sustainable for long periods of time. People like Albert Einstein concentrate for many hours but their brains are highly conditioned for that kind of work.
I make the point that work is a second choice. Frederic Bastait of the 18th century is the only other economist who has ever made that observation. This is true of all animals and every organ in the body. The larger brain will assign as many tasks as possible to the inner lizard. Once a lie is determined to be true, the inner lizard registers it as a fact. In politics lies can be blurted out just like machine gun fire and the inner lizard will treat each one as an absolute fact. There are presidents who create jobs, according to the inner lizard. Government functions like a parent, according to the inner lizard. A bill that has “for the children” in its title, is good according to the inner lizard. Of course none of these statements are true but they are true according to the inner lizard and that is what determines behavior.
Political dialog consists of countless efforts to get people to change their minds without thinking with the larger brain. Never is the inner lizard more in charge than in an organism that is free from stress. When government does things that cause people to suffer, stress increases and the larger brain begins become active.
When celebrities like Meryl Streep talk about presidents, it is their inner lizard speaking. Many folks with large incomes will never use the larger part of their brain because they will still be stress free as the rest of the country suffers. Work is always a second choice and thinking is hard.
Notice the political dialog is totally focused of getting people to act and change their minds without thinking. Usually this works real well. But, now that people are under more stress their thinking is migrating to the larger problem solving parts of their brains. This is why the dialog coming out of the news media is no longer being accepted as fact. Enough people are thinking and can clearly distinguish between what is true and what is not. Also, with a growing level of suffering, large brain thinking is becoming more common.
When human beings seldom think outside of their inner lizard, the decisions they make are not a lot more sophisticated than those of an actual reptile.
Another Timely Curbside Jimmy Tune When Times Got Really Weird