Human Brain Hardwired for Optimism

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ex-l

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Human Brain Hardwired for Optimism

Post01 Jan 2012

Our brains, not our souls, may be hardwired to look on the bright side, says neuroscientist Tali Sharot in her new book called The Optimism Bias. "A growing body of scientific evidence points to the conclusion that optimism may be hardwired by evolution into the human brain."

On average, research shows that we expect things to turn out better than they end up becoming. People hugely underestimate the chances of negative things happening to us. The belief that the future will be much better than the past and present is known as 'the optimism bias'. It abides in every race, region and socioeconomic bracket. Our tendency towards overly positive assumptions can lead to disastrous miscalculations in our lives. Dare I say it, even in our choice of commitment to a religion promising us a heavenly Golden Age.

So what if you knew this? Would you start up a religion to exploit individuals' tendency to wishful thinking, or would you build into your religion protections against individuals being exploited?

If any individual who has a tendency to be optimistic sends me 10% of their earnings, and gives me their home, I will promise to increase its value multi-million fold in the next life and they will receive a palace made out of gold in return. What ... don't you believe me? Damn. You must be cured of Brahma Kumarism. How about a one off donation for a quiet weekend in the country then? Or may be I can sell you a book which will cure you of all your problems or CD?
Tali Sharot wrote:We are not born with an innate understanding of our biases.

The brain's illusions have to be identified by careful scientific observation and controlled experiments and then communicated to the rest of us. Once we are made aware of our optimistic illusions, we can act to protect ourselves. The good news is that awareness rarely shatters the illusion. The glass remains half full. It is possible, then, to strike a balance, to believe we will stay healthy, but get medical insurance anyway; to be certain the sun will shine, but grab an umbrella on our way out — just in case.

There was a second quote in the extract I also found intriguing ...
Scientists who study memory proposed an intriguing answer: memories are susceptible to inaccuracies partly because the neural system responsible for remembering episodes from our past might not have evolved for memory alone. Rather, the core function of the memory system could in fact be to imagine the future – to enable us to prepare for what has yet to come. The system is not designed to perfectly replay past events, the researchers claimed. It is designed to flexibly construct future scenarios in our minds. As a result, memory also ends up being a reconstructive process, and occasionally, details are deleted and others inserted.

Tali Sharot is a research fellow at University College London's Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging

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