Emotions are data, not facts
Emotions are data, not facts
Emotions are data, not facts
In heated moments, feelings shout like breaking news and we treat them as headlines, not hints. So we overreact, misread others, and make messes we have to fix later.
How can we wisely regard our feelings without becoming embroiled in our passions, nor becoming cold and detached?
In heated moments, feelings shout like breaking news and we treat them as headlines, not hints. So we overreact, misread others, and make messes we have to fix later.
How can we wisely regard our feelings without becoming embroiled in our passions, nor becoming cold and detached?
In heated moments, feelings shout like breaking news and we treat them as headlines, not hints. So we overreact, misread others, and make messes we have to fix later.
How can we wisely regard our feelings without becoming embroiled in our passions, nor becoming cold and detached?
Ethan Hsieh
/
November 5, 2025
Ethan Hsieh
/
November 5, 2025
Ethan Hsieh
/
November 5, 2025
Many of us treat emotions as verdicts: “I feel ignored, therefore you are ignoring me.” Or we do the opposite: distrust feelings entirely and try to be “rational.” Both moves backfire. Emotions either run the show or get shoved aside, and we miss what they’re actually good at: pointing. Feelings carry useful information about our needs, values, and the situation, but they’re noisy, fast, and context-sensitive. Excellent for flagging issues, unreliable for settling them. As psychologist Susan David puts it, emotions are “data, not directives.”
Many of us treat emotions as verdicts: “I feel ignored, therefore you are ignoring me.” Or we do the opposite: distrust feelings entirely and try to be “rational.” Both moves backfire. Emotions either run the show or get shoved aside, and we miss what they’re actually good at: pointing. Feelings carry useful information about our needs, values, and the situation, but they’re noisy, fast, and context-sensitive. Excellent for flagging issues, unreliable for settling them. As psychologist Susan David puts it, emotions are “data, not directives.”
Many of us treat emotions as verdicts: “I feel ignored, therefore you are ignoring me.” Or we do the opposite: distrust feelings entirely and try to be “rational.” Both moves backfire. Emotions either run the show or get shoved aside, and we miss what they’re actually good at: pointing. Feelings carry useful information about our needs, values, and the situation, but they’re noisy, fast, and context-sensitive. Excellent for flagging issues, unreliable for settling them. As psychologist Susan David puts it, emotions are “data, not directives.”
Our Proposal
Treat emotions like signals from a camera’s autofocus: quick readings that help you aim, not the final picture. Use them to guide attention (“something here matters”), then check focus before you click, by looking for evidence, context, and alternatives. Neuroscience backs this up: emotions bias decisions so we can act in complex situations (helpful), but they can also mislead if taken as facts. Think “soft focus first, manual adjust after.”
Our Proposal
Treat emotions like signals from a camera’s autofocus: quick readings that help you aim, not the final picture. Use them to guide attention (“something here matters”), then check focus before you click, by looking for evidence, context, and alternatives. Neuroscience backs this up: emotions bias decisions so we can act in complex situations (helpful), but they can also mislead if taken as facts. Think “soft focus first, manual adjust after.”
Our Proposal
Treat emotions like signals from a camera’s autofocus: quick readings that help you aim, not the final picture. Use them to guide attention (“something here matters”), then check focus before you click, by looking for evidence, context, and alternatives. Neuroscience backs this up: emotions bias decisions so we can act in complex situations (helpful), but they can also mislead if taken as facts. Think “soft focus first, manual adjust after.”
"Emotions are data, they are not directives."
— Dr. Susan David
"Emotions are data, they are not directives."
— Dr. Susan David
"Emotions are data, they are not directives."
— Dr. Susan David
Three research threads make “data, not facts” a sturdier stance.
Affect-as-information. We often use mood as a heuristic (“How do I feel about it?”) which can be smart or sloppy depending on context. Rain outside can sour your product review unless you notice the weather and correct for it. Translation: feelings inform judgments, but only when you source them.
Somatic markers. Emotions (and their bodily cues, such as heart rate, gut tension) help narrow huge decision spaces fast, especially under uncertainty. They’re like a camera’s auto-exposure: great for getting in range, not for fine art without tweaks. People with damage to emotion-related circuits struggle to decide, even with intact IQ, underscoring emotions’ guidance role.
Constructed emotion. Your brain helps make emotions by predicting and labeling sensations with learned concepts and culture. That’s why the same bodily hum can be “excitement” on stage and “anxiety” at the dentist. If emotions are partly constructed, they’re not brute facts; they’re interpretations that can be refined.
Three research threads make “data, not facts” a sturdier stance.
Affect-as-information. We often use mood as a heuristic (“How do I feel about it?”) which can be smart or sloppy depending on context. Rain outside can sour your product review unless you notice the weather and correct for it. Translation: feelings inform judgments, but only when you source them.
Somatic markers. Emotions (and their bodily cues, such as heart rate, gut tension) help narrow huge decision spaces fast, especially under uncertainty. They’re like a camera’s auto-exposure: great for getting in range, not for fine art without tweaks. People with damage to emotion-related circuits struggle to decide, even with intact IQ, underscoring emotions’ guidance role.
Constructed emotion. Your brain helps make emotions by predicting and labeling sensations with learned concepts and culture. That’s why the same bodily hum can be “excitement” on stage and “anxiety” at the dentist. If emotions are partly constructed, they’re not brute facts; they’re interpretations that can be refined.
Three research threads make “data, not facts” a sturdier stance.
Affect-as-information. We often use mood as a heuristic (“How do I feel about it?”) which can be smart or sloppy depending on context. Rain outside can sour your product review unless you notice the weather and correct for it. Translation: feelings inform judgments, but only when you source them.
Somatic markers. Emotions (and their bodily cues, such as heart rate, gut tension) help narrow huge decision spaces fast, especially under uncertainty. They’re like a camera’s auto-exposure: great for getting in range, not for fine art without tweaks. People with damage to emotion-related circuits struggle to decide, even with intact IQ, underscoring emotions’ guidance role.
Constructed emotion. Your brain helps make emotions by predicting and labeling sensations with learned concepts and culture. That’s why the same bodily hum can be “excitement” on stage and “anxiety” at the dentist. If emotions are partly constructed, they’re not brute facts; they’re interpretations that can be refined.
What does this mean?
Your pain point wasn’t “too many feelings”; it was treating first readings as final truth. Emotions reliably flag what matters; they don’t reliably decide what’s true. Using them as camera signals (focus, then verify!) keeps their speed without swallowing their errors. This avoids the old trap: either obeying every feeling or ignoring them and going blind to what they reveal.
TIAMAT teaches “focus-then-verify” drills: feel it, name it, check it, choose. Learn the DIME ecology of practices to turn signals into wise action. Attend a C&C or Intro session to try it out!
What does this mean?
Your pain point wasn’t “too many feelings”; it was treating first readings as final truth. Emotions reliably flag what matters; they don’t reliably decide what’s true. Using them as camera signals (focus, then verify!) keeps their speed without swallowing their errors. This avoids the old trap: either obeying every feeling or ignoring them and going blind to what they reveal.
TIAMAT teaches “focus-then-verify” drills: feel it, name it, check it, choose. Learn the DIME ecology of practices to turn signals into wise action. Attend a C&C or Intro session to try it out!
What does this mean?
Your pain point wasn’t “too many feelings”; it was treating first readings as final truth. Emotions reliably flag what matters; they don’t reliably decide what’s true. Using them as camera signals (focus, then verify!) keeps their speed without swallowing their errors. This avoids the old trap: either obeying every feeling or ignoring them and going blind to what they reveal.
TIAMAT teaches “focus-then-verify” drills: feel it, name it, check it, choose. Learn the DIME ecology of practices to turn signals into wise action. Attend a C&C or Intro session to try it out!
October 30, 2025
On Projection
Projection is when your brain goes, “Hmm, this feeling is awkward… what if it belonged to you instead?” So your irritation, envy, or insecurity gets stapled onto the nearest human like a Post-it. It’s a fast way to explain discomfort (“It’s not me, it’s them!”) and, like most things fast, it’s a little wobbly.
How do we parse out what's real, from our best guess of the world around us?