"Simply put, beliefs come first, and explanations for beliefs follow. Using sensory data, the brain naturally looks for and finds patterns and then infuses those patterns with meaning, forming beliefs. Once beliefs are found, our brains subconsciously seek out confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, accelerating the process of reinforcing them - and round and round the process goes in a positive feedback loop."
Yogi Berra "In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is"
Influenced by....
Friedrich A von Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty and The Road to Serfdom
Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson
Milton Friedman's Free to Choose
Ludwig van Mises "was first among equals; he taught me that interventionism leads to more interventionism, and that if you can intervene to protect individuals from dangerous drugs, what about dangerous ideas?"
"It is this link between freedom and ideas that brings together my passion for science and my love of liberty, and has led to the type of science that I practice today"
In the chapter "Politics of Belief" Shermer shares Jonathan Haidt's work, where he proposes that the foundations of our sense of right and wrong rest within five innate and universally available psychological systems...
- Harm/Care
- Fairness/Reciprocity
- In-group/Loyalty
- Authority/Respect
- Purity/Sanctity
Based on surveys across a dozen countries, liberals consistently score higher on the first two, while conservatives score higher on the last three.
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