As humans, we can’t trust ourselves. Our minds work against us more often than not.
Let’s start with memory, something we all possess, whether you can remember just the last few seconds or four decades ago, it is still something we all have. But is memory real? Does it really depict what happened? Most certainly not. Memories are unreliable, they change every time we recall them. A memory isn’t “stored” like a video recording. Instead, whenever we remember something, the brain reconstructs it. It’s not a playback, it’s a recreation based on fragments of information the brain recorded. And where there are gaps, the brain happily fills them in with new, often fabricated details, even if those details are totally wrong, as long as they help keeping the memory as close to what you were feeling that moment, it is ok. And the older the memory, the more likely it’s distorted. Sure, the core of it, the extreme emotion or event that led it to be stored for so long, might still be kind of accurate. But the surrounding details, the colors, the faces, the words, they’re likely wrong. We can’t even trust ourselves to accurately recall our own lives.
Then there’s the brain’s obsession with patterns, identifying smiley faces on clouds and faucets and sockets. Pareidolia, the brain craves meaning, even in chaos, even where no meaning is supposed to exist. At one point in our evolution, this was very helpful, spotting faces in the forest, movements in the dark, meant survival. It didn’t matter if it was just leaves arranged in a strange way, running away from a potential predator and living to be able to procreate certainly was helpful. But now, this tendency has overstayed its welcome. What was once helpful now only spreads ghost stories and fuels misinformation. One moment we are sharing ghost stories and supernatural events as if they were real, and the next, someone is selling bracelets claiming it blocks 5G and cures cancer. Why can’t the brain just relax and stop creating meaning where there is none?
And the filters, the many filters our brain imposes on any input and sometimes output, those countless mental barriers like fear and anxiety. Once upon a time, they served a purpose. Fear kept us alive, ensuring we ran or hid before becoming some predator’s dinner. Anxiety was our early-warning system, preparing us for danger. But nowadays they’re roadblocks. Fear is still kind of useful, particularly for younger people who are more prone to do something reckless and stupid. But anxiety? Who needs it? Anxiety keeps the brain stuck in an endless state of hyper-alertness. It made sense when humans left the safety of caves to find food without becoming food themselves. But unless you work in life-threatening professions, anxiety is nothing but a hindrance.
I once asked a couple of window cleaners if their job was stressful. They said it was peaceful, even calming. Yet just the thought of being in their position sends my brain spiraling with anxiety. Simple, normal, mundane thoughts are blown out of proportion, exaggerated, and then stuck on repeat until the next imaginary death threat shows up. Why does the brain insist on thinking without permission? Why does it obsess over things that didn’t happen, won’t happen, and can’t happen? It’s useless, harmful, and downright exhausting.
But there’s more. Even your senses betray you. After all, everything you see, hear, and feel has to be interpreted by the brain. Our senses aren’t reliable. We misinterpret situations, fill in gaps in real time, and “see” things that don’t exist. Optical illusions and misheard words prove just how easily the brain can be tricked. So don’t trust everything you see or hear. A double or triple check, ideally from different perspectives, is always a good idea.
The brain is just not on our side. Its main goal is survival, no matter the cost. Not happiness, not freedom, just survival. Just drink this glass full of fat and sugar, stay put on that safe corner and don’t ever leave, move as little as possible too, let’s not waste too much energy.
And there’s no escape. You can’t leave your brain behind to go enjoy life. (Actually, some people seem to be able to do just that)
Everything you experience, believe, or think is filtered through this faulty, flawed, biased brain. It’s flawed when it’s recorded, flawed when it’s stored, and flawed again when you recall it. I’m starting to think we should all walk around with cameras and microphones recording every awake moment. At least that would be more reliable.
So, yeah, we can’t even trust ourselves. It’s a self-betrayal. What a cruel joke.
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