There's a scene in the UK mockumentary series Cunk on Earth where the ill-informed investigative reporter Philomena Cunk is in a museum, looking at busts of Greek philosophers.
Philosophy, she explains, "is basically thinking about thinking, which sounds like a waste of time, because it is."
It’s a funny observation, but as usual, Cunk is wrong. Thinking about thinking, also referred to as metacognition, isn’t just for philosophers – and it certainly isn’t a waste of time.
A slew of recent scientific studies has found that thinking about our own thinking is, in fact, crucial for making better decisions.
According to Steve Fleming, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London, metacognition “is this remarkable ability that the human mind has to think about and reflect on itself.
