Tuesday23 Jan 11:03 AM
Neurologically We Are Tuned Into The Magical Universe
Today's New York Times features a piece about the neuroscience and psychology of "magical thinking." The surprising news is that almost all of us prescribe to it. We might bestow an odd coincidence with a special importance— "It's a sign!" or we might feel that our "vibes" can help to affect change in another person or situation— perhaps rooting for a football team on television can help the team win. According to the Times, even the very educated tend to lapse into "magical" though patterns occasionally.
Evidence also shows that when we are the most stressed, and the most powerless, our belief in magical thinking increases.
"It is of interest to note that persons who hold magical beliefs or engage in magical rituals are often aware that their thoughts, actions or both are unreasonable and irrational. Despite this awareness, they are unable to rid themselves of such behavior."
Dr. Giora Keinan in the New York Times
Scientists explain this tendency psychologically, that these notions comfort us. These phenomena are often considered to be the polar opposite of helplessness.
But if you are a person like me, who enjoys a worldview where "magical thinking is a central part," then you are classified as experiencing "full blown delusion and psychosis." Pretty fierce, huh? No joke. It's not like a magical universe needs to be seen at the opposite of a rational one.
The experiments discussed in the article demonstrate how easy it is to manipulate and control people by deceiving our built-in, neurological desire to believe in "magic." Nothing that the last 100 years of advertising and propaganda hasn't shown us. Unfortunately, none of the experiments are brave enough to explore the obvious question: If we are all neurologically constructed to believe in various aspects of magical thought, then perhaps in some way, we are all correct. Rather than creating more disingenuous experiments, like those discussed in the article where actors feign pain or suffering, why not explore ways that our neurologically hard-wired world view could be true?
There are scientists, outside the mainstream, who actually do studies such as this; e.g., the brilliant work of Dr. Rupert Sheldrake comes immediately to mind. And what about mirror neurons? They are an obvious point of departure in this realm, especially with studies where we feel involved with another's pain, like many of the dubious and deceitful ones sited in the article.
Photo sources: Cara Howe for The New York Times; Clover photograph by Tony Cenicola/The New York Times.
Remarks
1 total remarks for this post. Add your own remarks below.
Tue 30 Jan 2007 at 02:42PM
And yet what if this magical thinking tendency is simply an accelerated version of some primal analytical tool. In other words, when the sky darkened and thundered we as proto-humans could expect rain.
What about our predeliction for immediate distrust of facial images which are not like our own? Does that justify racist thinking? Or is it simply a left over from a more primitive time.
Add Remarks
Please be nice.
