When I came across Dr. Gazzaniga's little book "The Mind's Eye" (U.California Press, Berkeley, 1997) when it was first published, I thought it one of the most intelligent, explanatory, and full of new ideas books, that I'd ever read.
I'd been through court experiences representing people who were falsely accused of the most serious of crimes, and no amount of reasoning with prosecutors made a bit of difference. One had to stand with ones brain in front of a line of unreasoning tanks.
In a fight between reason and unreason, craziness has a very good chance of winning.
As one smart fellow said, "The period of maximum danger is when all of the rational arguments are on your side." That would be Baldassare Conticello, quoted in the New York Times around 1987, director of archeology, Pompeii, Italy, in a fight over the building of a road over his dig, who so remarked to a supporter who pointed out that he had reason on his side.
Dr. Gazzaniga explains how our brain has a built in device that he and his colleagues refer to as our "interpreter." It makes up stories that make sense of the world even when the stories have no basis in reality and are total nonsense. But they sound good and we tell them anyway. We even believe them. We'll hang someone on the basis of them, in fact. That's why Gazzaniga's work is so very important. It helps uncover the lies we tell ourselves.
As Feynman said, "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, but remember, you are the easiest person to fool." Cargo Cult Science, Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman.
This is the number one best thing I've ever learned.
It's even more important than getting a good grade in "Works and Plays Well with Others."
Now if we'd all just pay attention to it...
Gazzaniga explains the how and why of fooling ourselves. Think of how much we love ghost stories and the idea that God made us, not some impersonal force that scientists call evolution. See the Robert Boyd article on culture, also today, NYT.
Today he was written up in the New York Times.
See the article, below: