You’re Not Crazy. The System Is.
In a world ruled by reason, trusting your gut is radical.
We’ve built a world that confuses logic for wisdom.
We’ve let reason become a religion.
And it’s making us blind.
But not everyone buys in.
And if you’re someone who often thinks:
“Wait, this doesn’t actually make sense…”
You might not be the problem.
You might just see something most don’t.
Let’s Talk About the Church of Logic
Here’s how the modern game works:
Think rationally.
Speak in straight lines.
Show your workings.
If you can do that on paper, in meetings, in essays you rise.
The system sees you as “smart.”
Even if what you’re saying is soulless, stale, or dumb in disguise.
What matters isn’t whether the idea works in real life.
What matters is whether it sounds correct in a boardroom or exam paper.
This is the modern cathedral.
Its saints?
Those who can argue, analyse, and rationalise with polish.
Its currency?
A performance of reason.
But There’s a Hidden Cost
In this world of institutionalised logic, we’ve:
Lost playfulness
Silenced instinct
Mistrusted the oddball
Rejected ideas that don’t “add up” on spreadsheets
We’ve crushed curiosity under the boot of “evidence.”
We’ve confused correlation for causation.
And we’ve built systems where the most dangerous phrase is:
“That’s just not logical.”
As if logic has never been wrong.
As if the world was made by analysts, not artists.
Some of the Best Ideas Make No Sense at First
Imagine pitching these:
A man will pay thousands for a watch that’s less accurate than his iPhone
People will stay in strangers’ homes instead of hotels
We'll build a luxury brand around sugar water
All irrational.
All nonsense on paper.
And yet Rolex, Airbnb, and Coca-Cola.
Most of what works in real life, didn’t make sense in the early pitch.
But it felt right. It tugged at something deeper than graphs and data.
We forget this.
Because modern institutions aren’t built to reward gut feeling.
They’re built to reward defensible reasoning even if it leads to dead ends.
Why This Happens
Rory Sutherland (the ad-world philosopher with a sharp suit and sharper mind) says this:
“We have created a class of people selected for their ability to be logical. That’s the passport to power.”
He’s right.
Think about it:
Schools reward those who show their workings
Universities test the structure of your argument, not its soul
Promotions go to the safest thinkers, not the wildest ones
So what happens?
You end up with a professional class of risk-averse rationalists.
Brilliant at defending decisions but terrible at discovering new ones.
What Gets Lost?
Weirdness
Wonder
Human truths
“I don’t know why, but it just works” magic
In other words: all the good stuff.
Creativity isn’t linear.
Desire doesn’t follow logic.
Markets don’t move like maths.
And yet we build policy, strategy, and careers on tidy formulas that collapse in the real world.
So What’s the Alternative?
Here’s the thing:
You don’t have to reject logic.
You just have to stop worshipping it.
Instead:
Make room for inklings
Say “yes” to ideas that feel good even if they sound dumb
Protect the thinkers who don’t fit the suit-and-slide-deck mould
And most of all:
Learn to defend irrationality.
Say:
“I know this doesn’t make sense, but I’ve seen it work.”
Or:
“There’s no clean logic here, but there’s a human truth.”
That’s not weakness.
I think it’s wisdom.
You Don’t Need to Make It Make Sense
Some of your best instincts will sound silly.
That’s a feature, not a bug.
Wanting to move somewhere for no reason
Quitting a good job because you feel numb
Starting something that has “no market”
Writing what you actually think
None of that is logical.
But it might be exactly right.
The system might not clap for it.
But your life will.
So What Now?
Well, maybe ask yourself this:
Where am I pretending to be rational so I can be accepted?
What have I silenced in myself because I couldn’t “prove” it?
Who told me that intuition was inferior?
These are the questions that open doors.
Not by argument.
But by courage.
The truth is, every human is wired for more than logic.
We’re driven by:
Story
Status
Emotion
A need to belong
A hunger for meaning
The rational class can’t fully explain any of these.
But they still shape everything.
So be brave enough to say:
“It just feels right.”
Even when the data disagrees.
Because sometimes, the world isn’t waiting for more logic.
It’s waiting for someone to follow their nose and build something that actually moves people.
You're not crazy.
You're just not a robot.
And that might be your edge.
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