No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism

by Chris Niebauer

Identifying patterns is a helpful and necessary tool to navigate the world in many ways, but it is also true that by constantly looking for patterns the left brain “complicates” what is perceived in a way that can be unnecessary and unhelpful. For instance, one study involved a simple test where viewers guessed whether a light was going to appear on the top or bottom of a computer screen. Unbeknownst to the subjects, in the test the image randomly appeared on the top 80 percent of the time. Most everyone quickly deduced that it appeared on the top more often, but because the left brain is constantly looking to “solve the puzzle,” it tried to find a solid pattern in the random occurrences. As a result, the subjects only guessed correctly about 68 percent of the time. That number may still sound impressive, but when the test was repeated with rats, which lack our complicated pattern-seeking interpreter, the rats always picked the top, so they guessed correctly 80 percent of the time.5 This is a perfect example of the interpreter spending time trying to find a pattern for a story that doesn't exist. So in this case, the left brain “lost” when compared to rats, and most interestingly, none of the participants had the slightest clue that they were creating patterns that were not there. By seeing patterns that are not there, the mind creates stories that aren't true, and as we've previously discussed, this can lead to unnecessary suffering, anxiety, and depression.