The human brain is a very powerful piece of hardware, but it is also dangerously flawed. To better understand the brain, we need to go back millions of years. The brain was first designed to alert our ancestors of physical threats - woolly mammoths, saber-tooth tigers, and invading tribes wanting to steal food and nubile women.
Fortunately, many of these threats no longer exist. Unfortunately, the brain has not been very successful in adjusting to the myriad of new challenges we face in our complex societies. Your brain is programmed to be paranoid. It is unable to differentiate between real and imaginary threats. This manifests in one of the biggest epidemics of the modern age - rampant anxieties!
Let's have a closer look at the THREE inherent defects we have in this hardware between our ears.
Defect 1: It Makes Stupid Assumptions
The brain processes information assuming it was obtained in rational and objective conditions. It does not consider the possibility of the body impacting the process. For example, we are not ourselves when we are hungry or tired. Your brain might tell you to quit your job because your boss is a narcissist dickhead, or leave your wife because she is a controlling bitch. In reality, the solution may be far simpler - you need a snack or take a nap. In moments of ambiguity, the brain can jump to crazy conclusions. The brain is designed to make quick instinctive decisions. These days, there is merit in taking your time before making important decisions. Before you lose your shit, stand back, count to one hundred, and try to approach the issue in the cold hard light of day.
Defect 2: It Comes With a Built-In Desire to be Liked
The threat of not being liked does not pose any immediate danger. It does, however, generate a potential future danger. We used to live in tribes/villages/small communities, If you acted like a dickhead, and pissed off most people in the community, you ran the risk of being expelled into the wilderness and devoured by rabid packs of wild dogs. You could also face less extreme consequences. Your status in the community could be downgraded. From deputy chief, you could be demoted to assistant water collector, and with that, curtailment of your access to the most nubile women. Instead of making sweet caveman love with the buxom young hottie in the kitchen, you would need to content yourself with the toothless widow two huts down. This potential loss of life, or sexual privileges, leads your brain to hardwire itself into understanding the need to ingratiate yourself with your fellow cave brethren. The brain also understood the importance of paying special attention to those with the most influence and authority.
Defect 3: It is Easily Manipulated
Given the strong desire to please others, that defective computer of yours can be hacked. This manifests in conformity and following the crowd because you do not want to stand out and be labeled as the village idiot. Social media preys on this burning desire to fit in and be accepted. The more time you spend on social media, the more you are being manipulated by algos that "tell" you what to buy and what to believe. Google and Facebook are not doing the manipulation – they are getting you addicted to their platforms. The manipulators are the corporations that use these platforms to sell you their stuff.
This is different from traditional advertising – TV, billboards, and magazines. The algos are observing you, tracking what you do, and then looking for ways to change your behaviour. They are pushing you to buy that new pair of shoes, to take that expensive vacation to the Maldives. Combine this blatant propaganda with Instagramers displaying how “perfect “ their lives are in these fancy shoes and exotic destinations, and you quickly believe that you “need” these things in your life. You whip out your credit card, make the purchase and then spend the next 12 months digging yourself out of debt.
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