In computer science, there is this black box concept. A black box is a device with known inputs and outputs without knowledge of how it works. This concept is sometimes used to move the focus point of the problem outside the black box.

We unconsciously choose what to have for lunch, make decisions to change majors, and switch career paths. We remember that we took a walk or discussed with friends before coming to the decision but we do not know exactly what happened to arrive at the decision. The way our mind works seems to resemble the black box. Likewise our focus lies out of the black box. Once we come to a decision, our focus moves on to making the next series of decisions without fully grasping how we came to the decision. American psychologist B.F. Skinner compared the mind to the black box for similar reasons.

Different events from small talks with friends to major life events shape the black box. These events all become mingled up and move on to become parts of the black box. Unfortunately our black box does not always make the best decisions. And this is why we should understand our black box. When something goes wrong in a system, a machine, or a code the way to fix is to figure out the problem, come up with a resolution, and implement it. To get to these steps, you need to know how the system, machine, or code works. With all three of those, there is a or a group of people who made it so they usually can give guidance to how these work. With the mind the builder is all the experiences you had through your life and you cannot question these abstract matters about how the black box works.

Figuring out the black box is like drawing a map between what is inside me and the decisions I make. Our mind is like a function with inputs(decisions to make) and outputs(the decisions we end up making). Different people would come up with different approaches to figuring out their own black box. Mine are meditation and writing. And this helped me not just understand myself better but to find out what is stressing me, why I am inclined to make certain decisions, and how I should react to get closer to the person I aspire to be. It does do a bit more than solving curiosity while it does not kill the cat.