> To better understand fatigue, Pessiglione, Chib and other researchers are trying to bridge an understanding of its biochemical workings with how it affects motivation4. The current hypothesis: cognitive fatigue arises from metabolic changes in parts of the brain that are responsible for cognitive control
This will be interesting to see because for a long time there's been a lot of work saying that "ego depletion" isn't a thing[0] and I swear I have tried to believe this but my own personal experience is completely different. Later in the night, and when I'm mentally tired I do experience this: poor impulse control, lowered emotion regulation, the whole shebang. It'll be interesting to see what the basis is for this, because despite taking all that research at face-value I have to say that now after all these years, I can't help but think it must be wrong.
0: though some have claimed that it is a thing if you believe that it's a thing, i.e. it happens to those who believe in it.
I think Daniel Kahneman's System 1 (habits, unconscious) and System 2 (learning, "error correction", conscious) are physical systems, and System 2 takes a LOT more energy to run.
So, when you get tired, System 2 leans more and more on the much more energy efficient System 1. So you get behaviors that look like unrestrained habits: poor impulse control, lowered emotional regulation, etc
I love the simplicity of the System 1/2 breakdown - but is there any actual evidence behind it? It seems like such a classic pop-psychology observational deduction of how something might work with no science to prove it.
In cognitive psychology there's all sorts of evidence that we have two distinct processes, but I don't think anyone has really mapped it to a physical system yet.
Modeling two physical systems is pretty interesting though because dementia ends up looking like a clear failure of System 2. Really neat idea generator even if imperfect.
My very controversial interpretation of taoism's wu wei [effortless action] is exactly this concept, which 2500 years later we can express in much more scientific ways.
Motivation, pure effort and stubbornness to change our ways, are wasted energy and a waste of time. The only way to effect behavioural change in ourselves is through the unconscious habits that drive 99% of our daily lives.
I feel not many people are aware that conscious activity is very energy-intense and sporadic. Most people have days that are 100% routine from morning to bedtime.
Physical fatigue is lack of ATP and happens through the day as oxidation builds up. Cognitive fatigue is a build-up of used neurotransmitters that also build up over the day. These two processes interact with each other though where neurotransmitter reuptake uses a lot of ATP. I see that connection between them as ego depletion. If true, the best solution to it is a nap because that will help clear the junk out.
I feel there is more than one type of mental fatigue. Some of them can be forced through (e.g. the emotional kind that happens when you have to do something you don't want to do) and some can't (e.g. not having enough sleep for prolonged time).
I don’t think its completely bogus. There are lots of things you can do that you don’t realize you can. But 40-50 hours of work a week, even if you don’t even leave your house, still takes a lot out of you.
This will be interesting to see because for a long time there's been a lot of work saying that "ego depletion" isn't a thing[0] and I swear I have tried to believe this but my own personal experience is completely different. Later in the night, and when I'm mentally tired I do experience this: poor impulse control, lowered emotion regulation, the whole shebang. It'll be interesting to see what the basis is for this, because despite taking all that research at face-value I have to say that now after all these years, I can't help but think it must be wrong.
0: though some have claimed that it is a thing if you believe that it's a thing, i.e. it happens to those who believe in it.