Today I have a good understanding of how the brain forms beliefs. In the previous chapter, I described how the brain’s model of the world can be inaccurate and why false beliefs can persist despite contrary evidence. For review, here are the three basic ingredients: 1. Cannot directly experience: False beliefs are almost always about things that we can’t directly experience. If we cannot observe something directly—if we can’t hear, touch, or see it ourselves—then we have to rely on what other people tell us. Who we listen to determines what we believe. 2. Ignore contrary evidence: To maintain
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