Why we believe silly things
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Exploring why belief can trump evidence, superstition can defeat logic, and emotion can beat reason hands down, any day of the week.
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Why we believe silly things
- 1. Why do we believe silly things? designing better user experiences
- 6. 31 18 24 11 33 17 35 0 2 11 9 25 10 19 9 9 12 22 36 18
- 8. FOOD!
- 9. = FOOD!
- 10. FOOD!
- 12. FOOD!
- 16. Yo, Marion.
- 19. Decemb er 21, 19 54
- 20. 12:00am
- 21. 12:00am 4:30am
- 32. ?
- 33. Ash Donaldson ash@produxi.com designing better user experiences
Hinweis der Redaktion
- Can you trust your own thoughts?
- We’re often reminded of how amazing the 100 billion or so brain cells that power the mind are...
- ...yet we rarely discuss its many shortcomings.
- In order to survive, animals have had to evolve to be excellent at recognising patterns and making connections...
- In fact, we’re so good at it, we see patterns and make connections, even when they don’t exist!
- To demonstrate this, 62 years ago BF Skinner placed a series of hungry pigeons in a box that automatically dispensed food at set intervals.
- Skinner observed that whatever the pigeon was doing when the food was dispensed, it then repeated.
- The hungry birds thought that their actions were somehow causing the food to be dispensed. They made a false link between cause and effect.
- They'd continue repeating their actions, sometimes with slight modifications, sometimes with additions. When the food next appeared, it reinforced their new behaviour. The frantic bird dance that resulted was a textbook example of superstition. It's due to what psychologists call a ‘correlation versus causation error’. If I do X and it correlates with Y happening, it doesn't necessarily mean that X *caused* Y to happen.
- If the pigeon had of just sat patiently, the food would have still appeared at its set interval, but these birds erroneously thought that their dancing ritual was needed to make the food appear. Humans may be smarter than birds, but we still fall prey to the same correlation versus causation error, which is why we do everything...
- ...from our own pigeon dances for rain...
- ...through to our elaborate religious ceremonies, sacrifices, offerings, and prayers. We have evolved to be superstitious. Surely, being the rational creatures we are, we would give up such superstitious beliefs in the face of logic or evidence, wouldn’t we? Not necessarily. Sometimes, opposing evidence can actually make our beliefs stronger!
- For example, in 1954 Chicago housewife, Marion Keech claimed aliens spoke with her telepathically.
- They told her that the God of Earth would flood the world, killing all inhabitants...
- ...except of course, Marion and her followers, who would be whisked off in a UFO at midnight, Dec 21, 1954 Marion’s shy followers kept a low profile, avoiding the media. They gave away all their worldly possessions and said goodbye to loved ones who stubbornly refused to join them.
- Midnight came and went with no aliens and no flood. Everyone sat in silence. Around 4am, Marion started weeping softly. At this stage, you’d think they’d say “Silly us. Like everyone’s been trying to tell us, Marion must really be a nutter!” and get on with their life. Instead, the group continued to sit in silence. At 4:30am, Marion claimed to receive another telepathic message: "The little group, sitting all night long, had spread so much light that God had saved the world from destruction." The next day, the previously media averse group began an urgent campaign to spread their message. Why now, with all evidence against them, did they believe even stronger?
- Our brains don't like clothes that don't fit. They don’t like trying to hold two conflicting ideas. This is called a state of cognitive dissonance. Many things you can change your mind on, but the more time & effort you invest in a belief, the more your brain will do to protect that comfortably fitting belief, even in the face of irrefutable evidence. Whole industries are built around this. Provide people with small things to believe and invest in incrementally over time, and when they eventually discover evidence to the contrary, they’ll defend their belief: no matter how silly.
- From disproven alternative therapies to replace medicine, through nutraceuticals to boost your immune system, and miracle tonics to cure any ailment, to cosmetics to defy age with miracle ingredients. Billions of dollars is cashed in on fault thinking. Unfortunately, this problem with cognitive dissonance can also lead to much more than throwing away a few bucks.
- From disproven alternative therapies to replace medicine, through nutraceuticals to boost your immune system, and miracle tonics to cure any ailment, to cosmetics to defy age with miracle ingredients. Billions of dollars is cashed in on fault thinking. Unfortunately, this problem with cognitive dissonance can also lead to much more than throwing away a few bucks.
- From disproven alternative therapies to replace medicine, through nutraceuticals to boost your immune system, and miracle tonics to cure any ailment, to cosmetics to defy age with miracle ingredients. Billions of dollars is cashed in on fault thinking. Unfortunately, this problem with cognitive dissonance can also lead to much more than throwing away a few bucks.
- If you believe in something long or hard enough, you will oppose anyone who has another point of view. If they have invested as much time and effort in their belief, things can be become violent. People can believe so strongly tha they are willing to die for it. This is why we have ideological wars: People killing each other to see who has the better imaginary friend.
- If you believe in something long or hard enough, you will oppose anyone who has another point of view. If they have invested as much time and effort in their belief, things can be become violent. People can believe so strongly tha they are willing to die for it. This is why we have ideological wars: People killing each other to see who has the better imaginary friend.
- These were only a couple, amongst many flaws we have in cognition. So, tell me, can you really trust your own thoughts?