- “The allure of conspiracy theories lies in the idea that underneath our superficial and mundane reality is an enchanting truth veiled by a carefully constructed facade, adding a touch of magic and mystery to ordinary experience.” — Conspiracism as Serious Play https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/conspiracism-as-serious-play 23 comments cogsci
- “children are quick to associate magic with ritualistic behavior, suggesting that supernatural beliefs have their roots in childhood” https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/rituals-and-magical-beliefs-in-children 8 comments cogsci
- “most conspiracy beliefs are linked to an individual's ideology and/or psychological traits. However, the driving factor behind each of these beliefs is typically a conspiratorial mindset.” https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/different-strokes-for-different-folks 5 comments cogsci
- On Free Will - "We don't get to decide what we get on the IQ test, nor do we get to decide how interesting we find a particular subject. Even grit, which is touted as the one thing that allows us to overcome our genetic predispositions, is largely inherited." https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/you-are-not-free-but-who-cares 11 comments cogsci
- On animal cruelty - "Previous generations were able to overcome the horrors of human sacrifice, genocide, slavery, segregation, misogyny, and homophobia. Maybe it’s our turn to make radical progress. Future generations might be disappointed in our complacency if we don’t." https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/the-meat-paradox-part-i-why-we-underestimate-f39 2605 comments futurology
- Through an increased emphasis on the undermining of our institutions, the new age of conspiracism has the potential for greater harm than in previous decades. https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/conspiracy-theories-are-not-beliefs-304 14 comments futurology
- "Intense emotional experiences are remembered as more meaningful and thus are featured more prominently in the narrative of our lives." https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/meaning-purpose-and-pain-8ac 7 comments cogsci
- "The reach of our explanations is bounded only by the laws of physics. Therefore, anything that is physically possible can be achieved given the requisite knowledge.” https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/book-review-the-beginning-of-infinity 5 comments cogsci
- "Conspiracy beliefs are firmly held beliefs about stories that generally involve powerful individuals. Conspiracy intuitions, in contrast, are mere suspicions that the truth about some event is being kept from the public, potentially for nefarious reasons." https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/conspiracy-theories-are-not-beliefs-304 5 comments cogsci
- “Meat eaters and vegans alike underestimated animal minds even after being primed with evidence of their cognitive capacities. Likewise, when they received cues that animals did not have minds, they were unjustifiably accepting of the idea.” - Why We Underestimate Animal Minds https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/the-meat-paradox-part-i-why-we-underestimate-f39 2 comments cogsci
- "Those with higher cognitive ability are better at producing bullshit but feel less of a need to do it. " https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/gurus-and-the-science-of-bullshit 5 comments cogsci
- “When we lack a core understanding of the physical world, we project agency and purpose onto those conceptual gaps, filling our universe with ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and gods.” https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/ontological-confusions-and-belief 12 comments cogsci
- How COVID Brought Out the Worst in Us https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/how-covid-brought-out-the-worst-in 3 comments cogsci
- A challenge to the narrative that we live in a ‘post-truth’ society: “…it may be more appropriate to say that we live in a ‘my-side society’ where everyone seeks only the information that confirms their priors.” https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/conspiracy-theories-part-ii-conspiracy 10 comments philosophy
- “We believe conspiracy theories when they provide us with benefits other than true knowledge. In such scenarios, we are inclined to engage in motivated reasoning.” https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/conspiracy-theories-part-i-on-the?s=w 7 comments cogsci
- Philosopher Harry Frankfurt defines bullshit as the intentional act of deceiving or misleading someone without regard for truth. Bullshit is distinctive from lying, in that the liar knows the truth, but prefers that it didn’t come out. More on the science of Bullshit here: https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/gurus-and-the-science-of-bullshit?r=bl95y&s=w 60 comments philosophy
- Spinoza's idea - that in order to comprehend a statement, one must accept it as true - has held up impressively well against the literature. This idea has been coined "Truth-Default Theory" and is often deemed the cause of human gullibility. https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/are-we-too-gullible-or-too-skeptical 126 comments philosophy
- Article on the negativity bias of our news cycle, and how things really aren’t as bad as they seem. https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/pessimism-and-credibility 69 comments upliftingnews
- Are humans mostly gullible or mostly skeptical? On the one hand, truth-default theory states that to comprehend an idea, we must accept statements as true. On the other hand, humans have an innate tendency to suspect lies and remain epistemically vigilant: https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/are-we-too-gullible-or-too-skeptical 10 comments cogsci
- [Behavioral Economics / Judgement and Decision Making] There are many ways in which others deceive us. Lying, for example, is relatively rare and difficult to do. Bullshit, in contrast, is everywhere and it’s effortless, and the bullshitter is often rewarded for it. I write about the science here: https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/gurus-and-the-science-of-bullshit 6 comments economics
- In recent years, the term ‘bullshit’ has gained increasing acceptance as a technical term. My latest piece on the use, receptivity, and detection of bullshit https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/gurus-and-the-science-of-bullshit 5 comments cogsci
- “It is thought essential for a man who has any knowledge of the world to have an extremely bad opinion of it. “ John Stuart Mill’s observation referred the the negativity bias before we even had a name for it. He has been vindicated by the past few decades of psychology research. https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/pessimism-and-credibility?s=w 9 comments philosophy
- Negativity bias runs deeper than our news cycle, it is evident in our language, neurobiology, and our judgments of others. https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/pessimism-and-credibility 2 comments economics
- Negativity bias runs deeper than our news cycle, it is evident in our language, neurobiology, and our judgments of others. https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/pessimism-and-credibility?r=bl95y&s=w 19 comments cogsci
- Why does our confidence so often exceed our competence? And what can we do about it? https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/knowledge-and-confidence 6 comments economics
- Why does our confidence so often exceed our competence? And what can we do about it? My article on knowledge and confidence. Let me know what you guys think! https://ryanbruno.substack.com/p/knowledge-and-confidence 2 comments cogsci