"What should I do..."
Hiyori was troubled in front of her course selection form.
Sora asked. "Still haven't decided?"
"Whether to pursue sciences or humanities."
Leo approached. "A typical decision-making conflict."
"Conflict?"
"Reason points to one choice, but emotion points to another. Wavering between these two."
Sora opened her notebook. "Dual process theory."
"What's that?" Hiyori asked.
Leo explained. "Human thinking has System 1 and System 2."
"System 1 is fast, intuitive, emotional. System 2 is slow, logical, analytical," Sora added.
"In my case?"
"Your head knows sciences is rational. But your heart wants humanities."
Hiyori nodded. "Exactly. Sciences is better for employment and more stable. But I love literature."
Leo asked. "Why do you think sciences is rational?"
"There's data. Sciences have higher average income."
"That's a statistical fact," Sora acknowledged. "But rationality differs by individual."
"What do you mean?"
Leo explained. "Rationality is optimization toward goals. If your goal is 'high income,' sciences might be rational. But if your goal is 'life satisfaction'?"
Hiyori thought. "Learning literature would make me happy."
"Then that's also a rational choice."
Sora added. "In economics, this is called utility maximization. Money isn't the only utility."
"But I might regret it later," Hiyori said anxiously.
"Prediction is difficult," Leo acknowledged. "But psychological research shows people tend to regret 'what they didn't do' more than 'what they did and failed.'"
"Regret aversion," Sora said.
"So if I don't study literature, I'll think 'why didn't I try' in the future?"
"The possibility is high."
Hiyori sighed. "But deciding based only on emotion is scary too."
Sora suggested. "You don't need to ignore emotions. Rather, emotions are important information."
"Information?"
Leo added. "Emotions reflect long-term values and desires. Completely ignoring intuition isn't wise."
"But intuition can be wrong, right?"
"Of course," Sora acknowledged. "That's why integrating System 1 and System 2 is important."
"Integration?"
"First, listen to what intuition is saying. Then, logically verify that intuition."
Leo showed an example. "Hiyori's intuition says 'I love literature.' So why do you love it? Is it temporary emotion or deep values?"
Hiyori thought. "Since I was little, I loved stories. I want to understand people's hearts."
"That's consistent values," Sora acknowledged.
"Next," Leo continued. "Compare those values with the sciences option. Can you understand people's hearts in sciences too?"
"Psychology is between sciences and humanities..."
"Right. There aren't just two options."
Sora added. "Also, evaluate risks. What's the worst scenario if you choose humanities?"
"Difficult employment, lower income."
"Can you tolerate that? Are there countermeasures?"
Hiyori thought seriously. "If I acquire skills, there are possibilities even in humanities. And if I can work in what I love, I might be happy even with slightly lower income."
Leo smiled. "That's a judgment integrating emotion and reason."
"But I'm still anxious."
"That's natural," Sora said. "There's no completely certain choice. Uncertainty is unavoidable."
Leo added. "What's important is your attitude after deciding. The effort to make your choice correct."
Hiyori brightened a bit. "Even choosing humanities, paths will open with effort."
"Exactly."
Sora summarized. "Rationality and emotion aren't opposing. Considering both is true wisdom."
Hiyori began filling out the form. "Literature department, first choice."
"Good decision," Leo acknowledged.
"I'm scared, but I don't want regrets."
Sora smiled. "That courage is important."
The three looked out the window. There are always forks. But whichever you choose, the path continues.
"Thank you, both of you," Hiyori said. "Talking helped organize my feelings."
"That's the power of dialogue," Leo said.
The fork between rationality and emotion. Beyond it, there's a path only you can take.