Creators need internal believe and external validation, imbalance of either leads to issues

Humans have a higher mind and a primitive mind. The higher mind is also old but not as old, capable of more complex thought. The primitive mind is a 50,000 year outdated program

The primitive mind woke up in a place it doesn’t belong, it is running the same software it was in 50,000 BC

The primitive mind and higher mind are often somewhat at odds. When we want to go up to a girl at a bar but feel paralyzing fear, it is our primitive brain fearing rejection. 50,000 years ago there were ~5 women in our tribe we could mate with, if we screwed up an interaction it was over, we weren’t going to reproduce. Now there are millions of potential mates. The higher mind can understand this but the primitive mind cannot.

Being able to overcome the primitive mind and just go talk to the girl is a superpower. Having your higher mind win is a super power.

The mind is divided into the thinker and the prover. The thinker to think anything it wants. Once it decides the prover becomes the bouncer at the cognitive gate. Anything that doesn’t comport gets bounced and anything that confirms your beliefs gets let in

We are optimized for a world that no longer exists

Our eyes used to be optimized to see underwater then we evolved to land. Now when we try see underwater, things are very blurry. The brain is the same way, it’s blurry it doesn’t quite work. It was made for 50,000 BC.

What was the brain created to do? Have higher thought / pursue the truth or get close with our tribe so we could all cooperate and protect each other? The latter

Tribes that believed the same thing did much better than tribes who disagreed with each other in pursuit of the truth. Those genes are gone they didn’t survive

The way the prover thinker system works, ideas become the boss of your primitive minds. The prover latches onto some view and exists only to prove that idea right. That’s what was useful 50,000 years ago

The higher mind is a good bouncer, in pursuit of the truth and open to the evidence. The primitive mind is a zealot, hates uncertainty and only wants to confirm existing beliefs

The primitive minds treats your ideas as part of your identity which can trigger a fight or flight response if it is in peril of dying (idea proven wrong)

No idea is good enough, true enough, or well articulated enough to overcome confirmation bias.

We make fun of flat earthers for being absurd but we are no better, the only difference is 0.1% of people believe what they believe and 50% of people believe what we believe

“If you want to know what your shortcomings are look at what irritates you in other people”

We are horrible at self reflection but great at judging others

An ounce of emotion = a pound of facts

Backfire effect: when you try convince someone they are wrong they come out feeling more sure of themselves. Their brain goes into a fight or flight response and strengthens the beliefs in order to save them from dying. It is easier for the brain to do this by demonizing the person doing the convincing