715) [M]any popularizations of brain science focus almost exclusively on the asymmetry of the left and right hemispheres, speaking of the left as "analytic" and the right as "holistic" and even "emotional". While there is some truth to this, as the same time each hemisphere is heavily broken down into further specializations, of which some are asymmetrical and some are not. For instance, language is usually concentrated in the left hemisphere, face recognition in the right. But low-level visual processes, tactile sensation, and motor control are divided pretty much symmetrically between the two hemispheres. And in addition to the left-right asymmetry, neuroscientists talk about differences in "style" between the top and bottom of the brain, and between the front and the back. So the highly publicized left-right distinction is only one of many.

Ray Jackendoff
Patterns in the Mind (1994)

716) [O]ur brains and our nervous systems constitute a belief-generating machine, an engine that produces beliefs without any particular respect for what is real or true and what is not. This belief engine selects information from the environment, shapes it, combines it with information from memory, and produces beliefs that are generally consistent with beliefs already held. This system is as capable of generating fallacious beliefs as it is of generating beliefs that are in line with the truth. These beliefs guide future actions and, whether correct or erroneous, they may prove functional for the individuals who holds them. [...] Nothing is fundamentally different about what we might think of as "irrational" beliefs - they are generated in the same manner as are other beliefs. We may not have an evidential basis for belief in irrational concepts, but neither do we have such a basis for most of our beliefs. For example, you probably believe that brushing your teeth is good for you, but it is unlikely that you have any evidence to back up this belief, unless you are a dentist. You have been taught this, it makes sense, and you have never been led to question it.

James E. Alcock
"The Belief Engine" in
Skeptical Inquirer (May/June 95)

717) Our brain and nervous system have evolved over millions of years. It is important to recognize that natural selection does not select directly on the basis of reason or truth; it selects for reproductive success. Nothing in our cerebral apparatus gives any particular status to truth. Consider a rabbit in the tall grass, and grant for a moment a modicum of conscious and logical intellect to it. It detects a rustling in the tall grass, and having in the past learned that this occasionally signals the presence of a hungry fox, the rabbit wonders if there really is a fox this time or if a gust of wind caused the grass to rustle. It awaits more conclusive evidence. Although motivated by a search for truth that rabbit does not live long. Compare the late rabbit to the rabbit that responds to the rustle with a strong autonomic nervous-system reaction and runs away as fast as it can. It is more likely to live and reproduce. So, seeking the truth does not always promote survival, and fleeing on the basis of erroneous belief is not always such a bad thing to do. However, while this avoidance strategy may succeed in the forest, it may be quite dangerous to pursue in the nuclear age.

James E. Alcock
"The Belief Engine" in
Skeptical Inquirer (May/June 95)

718) Beliefs help us to function. They guide our actions and increase or reduce our anxieties. If we operate on the basis of a belief, and if it "works" for us, even though faulty, why would we be inclined to change it? Feedback from the external world reinforces or weakens our beliefs, but since the beliefs themselves influence how the feedback is perceived, beliefs can become very resistant to contrary information. [...] The belief engine chugs away, strengthening old beliefs, spewing out new ones, rarely discarding any. We can sometimes see the error or foolishness in other people's beliefs. It is very difficult to see the same in our own. [...] Critical thinking, logic, reason, science - these are all terms that apply in one way or another to the deliberate attempt to ferret out truth from the tangle of intuition, distorted perception, and fallible memory.

James E. Alcock
"The Belief Engine" in
Skeptical Inquirer (May/June 95)

719) [R]esearch show[s] that mildly depressed people are often more realistic about the world than are happy people. Emotionally happy people live to some extent by erecting false beliefs - illusions - that reduce anxiety and aid well-being, whereas depressed individuals to some degree see the world more accurately. Happy people may underestimate the likelihood of getting cancer or being killed, and may avoid thinking about the ultimate reality of death, while depressed people may be more accurate with regard to such concerns.

research of Shelley Taylor
Positive Illusions (1989)
reported by James E. Alcock in
"The Belief Engine" in
Skeptical Inquirer (May/June 95)

Note: "3089/898" is the designation I've given to the project of posting all my collected quotes, excerpts and ideas (3089 of them) in the remaining days of the Bush administration (of which there were 898 left when I began).

As of today, there are 682 days remaining in the administration of the worst American President ever.