TK TK The Psychology of False Beliefs
<p>Truth and accuracy — however, are not the only things that matter to the human mind. Humans appear to have a strong urge to belong!</p>
<p>What exactly is going on here?</p>
<p>Why don’t facts persuade us?</p>
<p>And why would somebody continue to believe a misleading or inaccurate idea in the first place?</p>
<p>How do such actions benefit us?</p>
<p>“The most complex subjects can be described to the most slow-witted man if he has no prior knowledge of them; but the simplest thing cannot be communicated to the most clever man if he is absolutely convinced that he already knows, without a shadow of doubt, what is set before him.”</p>
<p>To survive, humans require a somewhat accurate vision of the world. If your picture of reality is vastly different from reality, you will struggle to take productive activities every day.</p>
<p>“Humans are herd animals,” written in Atomic Habits — We want to fit in, make friends, and gain the respect and acceptance of our peers. Such tendencies are necessary for our survival!!</p>
<p>Our ancestors lived in tribes for the most of our evolutionary history. Separation from the tribe, or worse, expulsion, was a death sentence.”</p>
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<p>Understanding the truth of a situation is important, but so is remaining part of a tribe. While these two desires often work well together, they occasionally come into conflict.</p>
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<p>In many circumstances, social connection is actually more helpful to your daily life than understanding the truth of a particular fact or idea.</p>
<p>The Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker put it this way, “People are embraced or condemned according to their beliefs, so one function of the mind may be to hold beliefs that bring the belief-holder the greatest number of allies, protectors, or disciples, rather than beliefs that are most likely to be true.”</p>
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<p>We don’t always believe things because they are correct. Sometimes we believe things because they make us look good to the people we care about.</p>
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<p>I thought Kevin Simler put it well when he wrote, “If a brain anticipates that it will be rewarded for adopting a particular belief, it’s perfectly happy to do so, and doesn’t much care where the…</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/raising-a-beautiful-mind/the-psychology-of-false-beliefs-4ea2a8db97bc"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>