The Believing Brain: Why We Believe Anything At All? - Dr. Michael Shermer

In this, his magnum opus, the world’s best known skeptic and critical thinker, Dr. Michael Shermer—founding publisher of Skeptic magazine and perennial monthly columnist (“Skeptic”) for Scientific American—presents his comprehensive theory on how beliefs are born, formed, nourished, reinforced, challenged, changed, and extinguished. This book synthesizes Dr. Shermer’s 30 years of research to answer the question of how and why we believe what we do in all aspects of our lives, from our suspicions and superstitions to our politics, economics, and social beliefs.

In this book Dr. Shermer is interested in more than just why people believe weird things, or why people believe this or that claim, but in why people believe anything at all. His thesis is straightforward: We form our beliefs for a variety of subjective, personal, emotional, and psychological reasons in the context of environments created by family, friends, colleagues, culture, and society at large; after forming our beliefs, we then defend, justify, and rationalize them with a host of intellectual reasons, cogent arguments, and rational explanations. Beliefs come first, explanations for beliefs follow.

Dr. Shermer also explains the neuroscience behind our beliefs. The brain is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses, the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning. These meaningful patterns become beliefs. Once beliefs are formed, the brain begins to look for and find confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, which adds an emotional boost of further confidence in the beliefs and thereby accelerates the process of reinforcing them—and round and round the process goes in a positive feedback loop of belief confirmation. Dr. Shermer outlines the numerous cognitive tools our brains engage to reinforce our beliefs as truths and to insure that we are always right.

============================

Cashapp: 👉 $rewiredaddiction
Venmo: 👉 @Derek-Lambert-9
Twitter: 👉 @DerekPodcast
Instagram: 👉 @dereklambert_7

#MythVision #MichaelShermer #Skeptic

[PotPoet]

Guests like Michael Shermer, Richard Carrier, Elaine Pagels, Robert Eisenman, James Valliant, and others (including myself) on your show adds credibility to your hosting service. Congrats on a growing educational enterprise - making great shows.

[baymarin]

As a simple man, I see Dr. Shermer on MythVision, I press LIKE

[mikemozan]

The first quarter of the year was all about survival with many achievements not met but you have to be ready for second quarter and it begins right now by making a move to achieve your goals…If you have been saving and it’s not really getting you to were you want to be, then invest that money today for a better life tomorrow. If you can’t fly, run, if you can’t run walk, if you can’t walk crawl but just try and move to achieving your goals.

[rahulmenon]

This is a really great video! Dr. Shermer is an expert, and gives great insights in to how belief works. The Believing Mind is amazing!

[scholarvid]

Great show! The nature of consciousness: the big question for the 21st century.

[onedaya_martian]

This is amazing !! YOU are amazing !! The brain is amazing !! How you went from an addict to a majestic interlocutor with some of the greatest contemporary minds on understanding reality, is a gift to humanity !! To 100K subscribers and beyond !!!!

[darrelgustafson]

This show keeps getting better.
Your interview skills keep getting better.
You're going from good, to very good, on your way to great.
Well done

[nortonvast]

Learning to think skeptically is one of the most important achievements a human can accomplish. Without the skill of being able to distinguish truth from nonsense, we're lost.

[AgrippaPetronius]

I love the skeptics approach to way the mind constructs its own reality, and yet what I love about this make believe is how it has empowered humanity to seek for life’s deepest meanings, the truth about faith, ( not belief) is that it has from the beginning-less beginning established a paradoxical connection between mind and heart...in evolutionary terms one cannot function without the other, the sceptical point of view however functions like a winnowing fan as it distinguishing the differences between faith or mere belief....religion or metaphysics arises at its heart as a longing for a meaning in a meaningless world, at its worse it is catastrophic, at its best it opens the portals to an even deeper mystery...we should all be open to a deconstructed of these archaic values or institutions, and yet let’s keep in mind that the evolutionary process is not merely a mechanical process, but sometimes in definable and beautiful....idiocy is the art of assuming every one else is an idiot ...

[aaronlogan_music]

Love Shermer. Great job getting him on.

[T.Rex]

I listened to Dr. Shermer’s book on Audible today and really enjoyed it.

[GorgeousRoddyChrome]

Your interview style, as well as your guests, is top tier.
Keep up the good work!
...and thank you.

[joecaner]

“Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer.” 
— W.C. Fields

[patdainel]

Smashing it Derek! You should be very proud of what you have created. You don’t attract the kind of guests you’re having if you aren’t the real deal. Well done. Keep em coming.

[harkema]

It is such an interesting subject! Why we believe things. I am very interested in behaviour of living things. Great guest!

[wiskadjak]

Regarding predators in the grass, bushes etc.: If you know there are predators (bears, cougars, coywolves) in your area you might want to pay very close attention to those little rustles.

[GirlFriday]

Another great interview! So much respect for you for sharing your addiction story.. it is so helpful for people who are struggling to know of people who have come through it, , very brave of you

[fpcoleman]

Only found your channel a couple of weeks ago and I'm not only a subscriber but also a $10 patreon member.
These one on one interviews with the people that matter are amazing!
Waiting for Richard Dawkins!
Also how about Cosmic Skeptic, Genetically Modified Skeptic, Rationality Rules, Matt Dillahunty, Stephen Fry, and Sam Harris, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Apostate Prophet, Abdullah Sameer and many others.
Fantastic channel!
You have the best interviews with all the right people!
Thank you!!!!

[saisudheesh]

I got a copy of Sherme's book, and now i have an answer for the mysterious experience during midnight on an abandoned road in midnight 👍🏽

[danbreeden]

This critical thinking should be taught in school from grade one