Tag Archives: self deception

Reality Tunnels

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Cause and effect thinking tends to tunnel our thought processes.

Cause and effect thinking tends to tunnel our thought processes.

Cause and effect thinking tends to tunnel our thought processes over time. That is, we believe one thing happens because of another – then we tunnel that cause-effect relationship into an “only” relationship. One thing happens only because of another.

Reality Tunnels have the form or structure of:

X causes Y

Therefore – (Reality Tunneling)

Y must be caused (only) by X

What if Y is caused by Z? Or X+Z or X-Z? Or something else entirely? According to many quantum physicists, causes and effects are so entwined together it’s impossible to separate one from the other. Basically, there is never one cause for one effect or one effect for one cause. Perhaps reality is a big mess when it comes to cause and effect. To imagine that there is only one cause for any given effect tends to deny reality.

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Real Success

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In the words of Anna Qundlen, “…if your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all. Remember the words of Lily Tomlin: If you win the rat race, you’re still a rat.” Alain de Botton puts this all into perspective with wit and wisdom. 17 minutes of pure platinum. Enjoy!

Chocolate For Stress?

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Dark chocolate - good for stress? Yes!

Dark chocolate – good for stress? Yes! Good for you? Maybe not so much.

Maybe. Maybe not!

A recent article by the American Chemical Society (ACS) purports to extol the virtues of dark chocolate as a possible cure for stress. Apparently there is some substance to their study as it is getting plenty of press. Maybe that’s because we Westerners do like chocolate – and having a report that substantiates our appetite for the sweet confection adds to its reasonableness as a snack for us stressed-out folks.

Although it is nice that 1.4 oz of dark chocolate a day can significantly reduce stress over a two week period, it’s also true that “nobody can each just one!”

Let’s face it, some of us like chocolate A LOT – so much so that we might find it difficult to cut back to 1.4 oz per day!

I think it’s a bit early to start patting ourselves on the back for eating what is good for us each time we reach for the bonbons.

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It Wasn’t Me!

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T. gondii bacteria directed the behavior of mice to help the bacteria complete their life cycle. T. gondii is found in as many as 20% of humans.

T. gondii bacteria directed the behavior of mice to help the bacteria complete their life cycle. T. gondii is found in as many as 20% of humans.

A research group from the University of Leeds was able to show that a bacterium, Toxoplasma gondii, found in a large percentage of humans, affects the brains of mice in such a way as to direct the actions and behaviors of the infected rodents.

The researchers were able to show that the bacteria cause the mice to lose their fear of cats and thus make it far more likely they would get eaten, helping the parasitic bacteria to complete their life cycle in their main host.

A Discovery Channel program, The World’s Dirtiest Man, made an interesting statement in this regard (paraphrasing): as many as 90 percent of the cells on our body are actually bacteria, leaving only 10% human.* I was shocked! I had to rewind the old Tivo and catch that again.

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Pattern Problems

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How quickly and accurately we recognize a pattern could mean the difference between death and survival 20,000 years ago.

How quickly and accurately we recognize a pattern could mean the difference between death and survival 20,000 years ago.

Patterns – it’s the stuff of life. We don’t perceive reality – we literally create it with our assumptions – based on our perception of patterns. We assume a pattern as soon as we “guess” that one exists. After that, we tend to “fill in the blanks” rather than test our hypothesis (our “guess”).

To illustrate my point, consider the following pattern:

1, 2, 3…

Can you predict the next number? Of course you can. You assume it is 4. That’s because you perceive a familiar pattern. But, what if it is not 4. What if it is 5 instead? Is the pattern broken? Maybe – unless you can perceive a new pattern, you will not be able to predict the next or the next number.

Prediction is how we survived on the plains 200,000 years ago when we were considered food by many of the then existing fauna. Correct predictions brought about survival. Incorrect predictions often brought about death. Over the course of millions of years of evolution, prediction has become so ingrained in humans as to make it invisible to us.

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