We inherently use a two-step process in evaluating the data that surround us. First we have hyperactive pattern recognition—a tendency to see any possible patterns, erring on the side of false positives. This would serve the purpose of minimizing the chance of missing real patterns that may be important. Then we evaluate those potential patterns to see if they are in fact real—do they make sense and do they comport with what we already know (psychologists call this process “reality testing”)? Our brains evolved to capture everything and then weed out the fake patterns, but we are better at
...more
