Very interesting--all about the way our subconscious mind works. It led me to this website: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/. It hosts a number of what are called Implicit Association Tests (IATs). They are based on the concept that we make connections much more quickly between pairs of ideas that are already related in our minds than we do between pairs of ideas that are unfamiliar to us.
Using the i and e keys on your keyboard, you place images or words that pop up into one of two corresponding categories. The categories typically consist of two characteristics. The combination of characteristics are changed each round. By measuring the speed of your responses for each combination of characteristics, they can determine, somewhat, what sorts of connections your subconscious makes.
Some of them are a little controversial because they give results people don't want to hear. For example, a race test has categories like 'African American or Good' and 'European American or Bad'. Pictures of African American and European American faces are interspersed with words like 'love', 'peace', 'terror', and 'awful'. You sort them in to their proper categories. Then the categories are switched to read 'European American or Good' and 'African American or Bad'. You might be able to see what this is leading to.
There are a number of interesting tests that I tried out. Some of it suggested things about my subconscious that I wasn't sure I wanted to hear, that didn't sit well with me. This set my mind in motion--did I really do that? Is this me if it's not who I choose to be? I was analyzing the results more than worrying over them, but I can't deny that I was bothered.
As I thought, I concluded that I am not all subconscious. Subconscious me isn't the only me existing. I am a product of the joint efforts of my conscious and subconscious selves: my conscious self corrects my subconscious self when it grows too brash and instinctive because of my limited experiences, while my subconscious self clues me in to the things my conscious self overlooks. And, as I experience more, myselves adapt to encompass more life. Which seems, to me, a huge relief.
Try a few out for yourself; they're definitely something to think about.
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