104. Bottom-Up Thinking, Part 2: Saving top-down thinkers from themselves

In this episode, Marcus and Esme ask a very important question: can’t we be optimistic about the future AND do something about the man-eating tiger that’s stalking us?

It’s a metaphorical tiger, but it’s an important question, nonetheless.

Marcus and Esme continue their exploration of bottom-up thinking (a cognitive style more prevalent among neurodivergent people) and top-down thinking (a cognitive style more prevalent among neurotypical people).

They begin by taking some time to reassure their top-down thinking listeners that they are loved and that no one at Crazy Together Industries thinks they are monsters. They then explore why American society and corporate culture are so heavily biased towards top-down thinking and management models. Specifically, they reveal the links between top-down thinking and optimism bias, and discuss how one sweaty, annoying economist in the 1970s created a new model for corporate governance that supercharged the dominance of top-down models in the workplace.

Marcus and Esme then close the episode by affirming that, yes, we can balance our tendency towards unrealistic optimism and deal with the many metaphorical tigers in our midst. However, they caution that it will only work if we can figure out how to balance the influence of our top-down and bottom-up thinkers.

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Sources for this episode include:

• McCann, Sam. “Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Thinking: Why Autistic Brains Process the World Differently.” Green Coast Counseling, 2026, https://www.greencoastcounseling.com/green-coast-counseling-therapy-blog/top-down-vs-bottom-up-thinking-why-autistic-brains-process-the-world-differently. 

• Lee, Crystal I. “Bottom-Up Thinking and Autism: A Different Way of Processing the World.” LA Concierge Psychologist, 2020, https://laconciergepsychologist.com/blog/bottom-up-thinking-and-autism. 
• Blackmore, Laura. “Top-Down Vs Bottom-Up Approach In Management: Key Differences.” Cascade, 17 Mar. 2025, https://www.cascade.app/blog/top-down-vs-bottom-up. 
• Josephs, Leslie, and Thomas Franck. “Boeing Survey Showed Employees Felt Pressure from Managers on Safety Approvals.” CNBC, 20 Oct. 2019, updated 21 Oct. 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/20/boeing-survey-shows-safety-workers-felt-pressure-from-managers-report.html. 
• Singh, Laura, et al. “The Effect of Optimistic Expectancies on Attention Bias: Neural and Behavioral Correlates.” Scientific Reports, vol. 10, article no. 6495, 2020, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-61440-1. 
• Sharot, Tali. “The Optimism Bias.” Current Biology, vol. 21, no. 23, 6 Dec. 2011, pp. R941–R945. ScienceDirect, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982211011912. 
• Suster, Mark. “The Benefits of Top-Down Thinking & Why It Is Critical to Entrepreneurs.” Both Sides of the Table, 14 July 2010, https://bothsidesofthetable.com/the-benefits-of-top-down-thinking-why-it-is-critical-to-entrepreneurs-bec7789659a7. 

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