Does anyone else find it hard to personally connect with the well-researched claim that people respond with a fight-or-flight response to ideas that challenge their core beliefs? I've always found ideas to be more interesting the more they challenge my core beliefs. This is true of math and science, but especially true of things like religion. I remember how wonderful it was as a teenager to find challenges to the id…
I grew up in a very religious (technically a cult) setting. Earlier in my life, I believed some of it. I bristled at the suggestion that what I'd been taught might be wrong. I relished in the opportunity to practice "apologetics" and debate non-believers - a concept that appealed to me deeply at the time. And then, I grew up and left the bubble. I was fortunate enough to get a job working with people who held diverse…
The first thing I remember thinking about is how strange it is to be conscious and unable to fully trust my senses or my mind, wondering what might be beyond my understanding.