Dean Burnett

The world we perceive is the end result of all the processing the brain does with it. From the retina to the visual cortex to the hippocampus to the prefrontal cortex, the brain relies on many different areas to perform several different functions all working in tandem.

but suffice it to say that the brain is constantly looking for links in the things we observe. This is undoubtedly a survival tactic, stemming from a time when our species faced constant danger

It is more comforting for some adults to believe that the world is organised according to the plans of powerful authority figures, be they wealthy tycoons, alien lizards with a penchant for human flesh, or scientists.

The brain never makes anything easy for us.

‘pronounced locus of control’

The bigger your locus of control, the more ‘in control’ you believe you are (the extent to which you really are in control of events is irrelevant).

Whatever the cause, the rejection of randomness has numerous knock-on consequences

no matter how much evidence you have. The superstitious and the conspiracy theorists maintain their bizarre beliefs despite everything the rational world throws at them. And it’s all thanks to our idiot brains.

if the right inferior temporal gyrus is weak, the more irrational-leaning processes in the brain exert more influence.

Some people like to believe they’re totally rational, but this itself may be an ironic self-delusion.