WAYS HOW OUR BRAIN TRICKS US

In my previous post I had given the idea of how the brain drain works and why is there a chance for our brains to deceive us. Now let's see the different types of ways that the brain plays tricks on us.
There are some unique ways by which our brain tries to trick us. Some of them are:

1)We surround ourselves with information that matches our beliefs-
Once we believe in something, we try and persuade everyone to believe it. We wouldn't agree to the fact that we force some beliefs on someone, but yeah it is true. The way we talk helps prove this. It is more likely that you become friends with those who have similar way of thinking to yours. If their beliefs and yours are matching, you would definitely think that he/she might be your best friend.
And when someone else gives their views, we subconsciously try to dismiss or ignore their opinions on the subject. We think of the world in a certain way and also expect others to look at it in the same perspective. This is called as CONFIRMATION BIAS. This is a kind of bias when we favour the information that we already know or believe in. For example, when you buy a car you suddenly see the same car everywhere.Views which are similar to ours, confirms us that we are right, even though it actually might be wrong. Just because someone else has same opinions as yours, they don't necessarily have to be correct.

2)We tend to worry about things which are past and lost-
"The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind"~ Kiran Desai, Inheritance Of Loss

Worrying about something which we know we cannot change is one of the greatest weaknesses of a human. There is a term called 'SUNK COST' which means payment of time or effort that can never be recovered. So it's basically our time or money gone forever. The reason we can't ignore it even though we've paid for it already, is because our brain is wired in such a way that we feel loss far more strongly than our gains. This sunk cost fallacy leads us to ignore the logical facts presented to us and instead make us take irrational decisions based on our previous experiences and emotions.

3)Your brain likes to play the Blame Game-
It is natural that when something bad happens, our brain tries to look for something to blame. In these situations, we twist the reality around us to protect our self-esteem. In other words, we just don't want to hold the responsibility for the mishap. For example:- Say you are leaving on a vacation and you are usually responsible for packing all the electronic requirements like charger, power bank and earphones. Somehow, your brain forgot about that and you have started for the trip.
 When you realise it later, the first thing that comes to your mind is the fear of informing that you had missed to pack them. The next thing, we all do immediately is to defend ourselves by pointing out that it is not our responsibility always and try to blame the others also for not cross-checking. 

Q.But why do we engage in this whole blame-game situation?

A: Researchers believe that many of our attributional biases function as a way to protect our self-esteem and guard us from the fear of failure. According to this way of thinking, bad things happen to you because of things outside your control.

Comment below any other ways you think your brain has tricked you at any situation. 

Thank you for reading my blogs, more exciting content to come!! 👍😊

HOW OUR BRAINS DECEIVE US?

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOUR BRAIN TRICKS YOU EVERYDAY?
Don't worry, it's a good thing! It may seem surreal, but it is very true that our brain plays tricks on us all the time. Whenever our senses are involved, the brain is involved too. Our brain is one of the most magnificent and complex things on Earth, yet not the most perfect one. Sometimes, it too forgets some important events, your meeting with an important client or even your dentist appointment!Or it may fail to observe the essential features of your environment, which may put you at risk at times.

I've come up with an example which could best help you understand the situation that we are talking about here. 

You and your family are all ready to watch the best movie on theatres after a last-minute ticket booking.You go to a mall with 8 levels of underground parking on a Saturday evening, park your car in a basement and rush towards the mall.       

                        

Both you and your family members failed to note which level you parked the car nor do you remember the number of the parking slot. The question we are dealing with here is not "How do I find my car?" but it is "Why didn't I notice the number on the parking pillar?". It is totally normal and understandable that you were late for your show, and your brain skipped to observe it.

 

 Now you might think that the stress or time-constraints were the reasons behind you not remembering it. But, however the fact is that sometimes brain drain is the problem. It's quite inevitable but you can understand how it happens so that you can deal with it better the next time and it may help you feel like you have a grip on your life.

Neuroscientists tell us that a third of the brain’s cortex is engaged in vision, making it our most prioritized sense. We make the mistake of thinking that we see like a camera, but really it’s like a camera with many filters on it. A filter which represents our past experiences, one that takes into account our beliefs and a filter which is focused on what we ‘expect’ to see (sometimes the worst, sometimes the best).

Regardless, I think it's fascinating to learn more about how we think and make decisions every day. In my next few blog posts, I will be sharing more about what are the ways our mind works. So you wouldn't want to miss that! 

Comment down below if you liked this article and want to read more like them. Thank you for keeping up with my blog and stay tuned for more engaging content. 😊👍