Why People Believe Weird Things - And What Do Yours Say About You
If you think this will be offensive, definitely read on.
Let’s begin with a deliciously destabilizing passage from author
:“Christians believe evil was introduced to the world as a punishment from God after a woman ate an apple; Muslims believe angels were created on a Wednesday and walk the earth noting down believers’ good and bad acts; Jews believe they’re a chosen people selected by God to be a ‘light unto nations’; Hindus believe eternal souls travel through cycles of birth and rebirth that only cease when a state of perfection is achieved; Jehovah’s Witnesses believe it’s better to die than receive blood transfusions, which are against God’s will; Buddhists believe there are thirty-one planes of existence, including the realm of hungry ghosts through which the reincarnated ascend, depending on how well they play their game; Sikh men wear special pants to control their lust and believe hair is God’s creation so must never be cut.”
Now take a breath. That was a global tour of existential confidence.
Somewhere, right now, someone is praying to a deity that looks like an elephant. Another is counting the number of steps it takes to walk across their house so they please a ghost. And another is on Instagram arguing that crystals cured their anxiety (with an all too familiar affectation - link).
Still convinced your worldview is airtight?
Certainty is a Hell of a Drug
The human brain is a meaning-making machine addicted to closure (source). It hates ambiguity the way cats hate water. And religion, politics, philosophy, pseudoscience, and your aunt’s essential oils blog provide the same seductive thing: answers.
Why do bad things happen? Why are we here? What happens when we die?
Now imagine a kid asking those questions and someone saying, “Don’t worry, the apple did it,” or “God wrote it all down on Thursday.”
We chuckle. Until we realize we’ve been doing the same thing, with different packaging. As Stephen Roberts is fond of saying (with famous people taking credit for it),
I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours
[NOTE: if you have 5 minutes, do read an unconvincing retort - here]
Your Beliefs Are A Costume
You didn’t choose most of your beliefs. You inherited. Beliefs are the intellectual equivalent of a hand-me-down sweater from your parents.
Or your culture. Or your third-grade teacher who told you sarcasm was a sin.
You’ve worn these beliefs for so long, you forgot they’re a costume. And worse, you think everyone else is naked and confused while you’re clothed in divine polyester.
Everyone’s costume feels real to them. Wake up beside the Mormon with the self-policing, magic undergarments (link). They feel just as certain as you do.
Confidence Is Not a Sign of Accuracy
This is the psychological dagger. People who are most confident in their beliefs are often the least correct.
When someone says, “I just know it in my heart,” ask them if their heart also does quality control on pharmaceuticals and weather patterns.
Believing something intensely does not make it true. It makes it comfortable. That’s not the same thing.
Here’s What’s Wildly Liberating: