In keeping with an earlier promise to bring my readers more downloadable quick reads, this week’s article is called How Mental Systems Believe by Daniel Gilbert. I was reminded to link this piece by a helpful comment at Professor Lack’s blog, in which the director of A Reason to Believe explains his goals for the film:
All kidding aside, the goal of the film is to understand the process of belief, and how people come to their beliefs. It’s about figuring out the underlying mechanism of the psychology of why people believe, but also really why it’s so difficult to change their minds.
Gilbert’s article only addresses part of the process of belief, but it is an important part. His basic thesis is that “People believe in the ideas they comprehend, as quickly and automatically as they believe in the objects they see” which generally makes the rejection of an newly acquired idea more effortful than the acceptance thereof. Put bluntly, humans are hardwired for credulity rather than skepticism. If true, this hypothesis would explain much.
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