A Mind of Its Own
by Cordelia Fine · first published 2005
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2recommended by
3HN commenters
2012–2025first – last mentioned
67% recommend33% neutral
Exposing the mind's deceptions and exploring how the mind defends and glorifies the ego, [the author] illustrates the brain's tendency toward self-delusion. Unbeknownst to us, our brain - vain, emotional, immoral, deluded, pigheaded, secretive, weak-willed, and bigoted - pushes, pulls, twists, and warps our perceptions. Whether it be hindsight bias, wishful thinking, unrealistic optimism, or moral excuse-making, each of us has a slew of mind-bugs and ordinary prejudices that prevent us from seeing the truth about the world, the people around us, and ourselves.-Dust jacket.
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Just a quick recommendation for "A Mind Of Its Own" by Cordelia Fine (especially Chapter 3 = The Immoral Brain) for anyone who would like to read more about this, or for anyone already familiar who would like a short, readable book on the subject to recommend…
on “Smart people don't think others are stupid” ↗…coin is that, Modern Neuroscience tells us that the Brain itself is wired to Construct Reality from incomplete data and we seek/construct patterns where there are none. See for example Cordelia Fine's A Mind of Its Own: How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives and watch this Ted talk by Susana Martinez-Conde Reality is made of illusions—and we need them - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzDw07RqCSs
on “Carlo Rovelli’s radical perspective on reality” ↗Related : A Mind Of Its Own : How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives by Cordelia Fine.
on “The disunity of consciousness in everyday experience” ↗Cordelia Fine, in "A Mind of Its Own," makes a similar point: Fine says, "that your unconscious is smarter than you, faster than you, and more powerful than you. It may even control you. You will never know all of its secrets." So what…
on “Look at yourself objectively” ↗