The believing brain : from ghosts and gods to politics and conspiracies--how we construct beliefs and reinforce them as truths

Summary: In this book the author demonstrates how our brains selectively assess data in an attempt to confirm the conclusions (beliefs) we've already reached. Drawing on evolution, cognitive science, and neuroscience, he considers not only supernatural beliefs but political and economic ones as well. Synthesizing thirty years of research, the author, a psychologist and science historian, upends the traditional thinking about how humans form beliefs about the world. Simply put, beliefs come first, and explanations for beliefs follow. The brain, he argues, is a belief engine. Using sensory data that flow in through the senses, the brain naturally looks for and finds patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning, forming beliefs. Once beliefs are formed, our brains subconsciously seek out confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, which accelerates the process of reinforcing them. He provides real-world examples of how this process operates, from politics, economics, and religion to conspiracy theories, the supernatural and the paranormal. He demonstrates why science is the best tool ever devised to determine whether or not our beliefs match reality.