Welcome to max kaisers financial survival guide. Welcome to max geysers financial survival guide. Looking forward to thats the town. Thats the town. Yanks this is what happens to pensions in britain delegates you watch types this is what happens to pensions in britain dont let this you watch kaiser report. As a report. Dissent is being criminalized speech is being arrested just asked max dissent is being criminalized speech is being arrested just ask Max Blumenthal editor of the grey zone project and a leading investigative journalist. And editor of the grey zone project and a leading investigative journalist in concrete. Questioning Mainstream Media media era tubes and harry and david hare gating pussy makers can get you banned monetized and even the rest of. The makers can get you banned monetized and even arrest. Most people think just stand out in this business you need to be the. Most people think to stand out in this business you need to be the 1st one on top of the story or the person with the loudest voice of the biggest raid the 1st one on top of the story or the person with the loudest voice of the biggest raid in truth to stand down lose business is just the right questions in truth to stand down in the music business is just the right questions and demand the right answer. And demand the right answer. Question no. Question. Hello welcome to. Welcome to visionaries im Sophie Shevardnadze hoping. Visionary im Sophie Shevardnadze hoping fantasizing believing all assumingly natural things for humans believing all. Natural things for humans. But can we choose what we believe and why do we believe. What can we choose what we believe and why do we believe in it in the 1st place well ask Michael Shermer psychologist Science Writer in the 1st place well ask Michael Shermer psychologist Science Writer and founder of the skeptic magazine. Or and founder of the skeptic magazine. Michael shermer welcome to the show its great to have you with us. Michael shermer welcome to the show its great to have you with us lots to talk about you know many psychologists yourself including say that with lots to talk about you know many psychologists yourself including say that believing in improbable things is innate for humans so our leaving improbable things is innate for humans so our religion is basically and necessary mechanism that sort of religion basically necessary mechanisms that sort of. Mother nature has provided us with you know to survive be happy Mother Nature has provided us with you know to survive be happy in reality which is often dire. Yeah i think thats right in a its a strong word which is often dire yeah i think thats right in a its a strong word but what i mean by. Beliefs being you know naturally born into but what i mean by. Beliefs being you know naturally born inside of this is that our inclination is to try to understand the world can have a to b. Side of this is that our inclination is to try to understand the world can have a to be thats called learning association learning whether its like classical conditioning like pavlovs dogs thats called learning association learning whether its like classical conditioning like pavlovs dog or or operant conditioning like skinners rats its connecting one thing to or or operant conditioning like skinners rats its connecting one thing to another in the environment to try and understand causality all organisms do another in the environment to try and understand causality all organisms do its my little thought experiment is a bad bad engineer on a ha moment it on the plate on the beans a plate africans are 3 value in africa you get 3 years and you go theres a go when you hear rather one so when youre in the great soul in the grass is it a dangerous predator. Or is it it just the dangerous predator or is it just the wind and. Now if you assume the soon the wrestler wrestling the grass on the grass is a danger there is a depressing predator and it turns out its just just the wind youve made a typo or a false positive you thought there was a real connection is no just just the wind youve made a typo or a false positive you thought there was a real connection has no connection but no harm you just kind of run away but if you think the rustle in the grass is a day in action but no harm you just kind of run away but if you think the rustle in the grass is a day is that is just the wind it turns out its a dangerous predator your lunch is that is just the wind it turns out its a dangerous predator your lunch youve just been munched and taken out of the gene pool so my argument is youve just been munched and taken out of the gene pool so my argument is that we evolved the capacity to assume that all rustles in the grass are dangers we evolved the capacity to assume that all rustles in the grass are dangerous predators instead of just the wind and therefore we tend to build editors instead of just the wind and therefore we tend to believe things that are not true just in case because some of them are true and believe things that are not true just in case because some of them are true and therefore believing weird things by the way this is called superstition or magical thinking the leader for believing weird things by the way this is called superstition or magical thinking believing weird things like that is not a bug in the system its a feature that comes equipped in the software of our programming to try to keep being weird things like that is not a bug in the system its a feature that comes equipped in the software of our programming to try to connect things in the environment just in case theres a real connection right still things in the environment just in case theres a real connection. All right so. Youre saying believes are almost restrained by common sense just like youre saying believes are almost restrained by common sense just like your writing bit helps to harness an emotional horse but this horse riding bait helps to harness an emotional horse but this horse well you know it still go wherever if it once are you saying that will still go wherever if it once are you saying that our emotional self will. Learn that were always the one to go over that you rationalise well we are booked both right. We are emotional both. And emotional very reason. Is a is a tool we use to try to understand how the world world works. Im a motions are also kind of a tool its a way of reasoning very quickly so those are also kind of a tool its a way of reasoning very quickly so evolution designed our emotions to drive us to do things so you dont have to evolution designed our emotions to drive us to do things so you dont have to calculate how many calories your body needs it in a given day you just feel calculate how many calories your body needs it in a given day you just feel hungry so that emotion of hunger drives you to eat something and then when youre hungry so that emotion of hunger drives you to eat something and then when youre satisfied youve had enough you no longer have that feeling or the desire to be attracted to somebody satisfied youve had enough you no longer have that feeling or the desire to be attracted to somebody else this is an evolved trait that helps the species perpetrated you have said else this is an evolved trait that helps the species perpetrated you have sex and children and so on but no one calculates exactly why their attraction children and so on but no one calculates exactly why theyre attracted to somebody else you know the waist to hip ratio or the cement summitry of their faces or the acted to somebody else you know the waist to hip ratio or the cement summitry of their faces or the complection of their skin no one does those calculations you just feel attracted to somebody so in the complection of their skin no one does those calculations you just feel attracted to somebody so in that sense things emotions like anger and jealousy and that sense things emotions like anger and jealousy and you know those sorts of things that theyre a way of reasoning about the world very quickly this call rapid you know those sorts of things that theyre a way of reasoning about the world very quickly this call rapid cognition you just have a into a sense about something and were pretty good about this with plug mission you just have a into in a sense about something in. Were pretty good about this with people for example if you have a sense like this person i dont have a good feeling about him i dont trust him i dont know what it is i just dont feel right about him or the situation for example if you have a sense like this person i dont have a good feeling about him i dont trust him i dont know what it is i just dont feel right about you or the situation youre in those are usually pretty accurate feelings that we have but. Those are usually pretty accurate feelings that we have but its not its not psychic power its its a way of reasoning very rapidly about the environment its not its not psychic power its its a way of reasoning very rapidly about the environment youre picking things up from the from the environment you dont know what they are i dont know what there is but its just youre picking things up from the from the environment you dont know what they are i dont know what there is but its just a feeling you get and thats actually a good trait that we have well ok the lack of feeling you get and thats actually a good trait that we have well ok let me take this a little step further lets talk about whats really me take this a little step further lets talk about whats real or not at the end of the day what we do decipher is real or not at the end of the day what we do decipher is real right because many were now and physicists have talked to for instance because many renowned physicist. For instance he says she is suggesting that everything that we think is real and he says she is suggesting that everything that we think is real and might just be. What do you think yeah i might just be. What do you think. Yeah i i dont think thats correct at the level that which which we live that is the matter i dont think thats correct at the level that which which we live that is the macro physical world but michio is talking about there our brian cox acro physical world with michio is talking about there are brian cox 3 of the physicists that study quantum physics for example theyre talking about the subatomic turning the physicists that study quantum physics for example theyre talking about the subatomic particle and this is a very different world it is the size of atoms if you article and this is a very different world it is the size of atoms if you had like a tennis ball here is the nucleus of the atom and the electrons going around it head like a tennis ball here is the nucleus of the atom and the electrons going around it sort of the Energy Shield or a field of the electrons going around these sort of the Energy Shield or a field of the electrons going around it these would be like blocks away from the little tennis ball here its mostly empty space would be like blocks away from the little tennis ball here its mostly empty space the atom is mostly empty space so thats why people new age group the atom is mostly empty space so thats why people new age groups talk about you know this chair is completely empty or or this is really empty space to talk about you know this chair is completely empty or or this is really empty space yeah but not at the macro level at the macro level the atoms are so tightly bound but not at the macro level at the macro level the atoms are so tightly bound that essentially this chair that im sitting in is not empty space its a solid thing thats why you know that essentially this chair that im sitting in is not empty space its a solid thing thats why i dont fall through it and and have a little accident here so at the macro level its not an illusion what we see and feel. Is a fairly and fall through it and and have a little accident here so at the macro level its not an illusion what we see and feel is it is a fairly accurate portrait of reality now there are some people that argue that accurate portrait of reality now there are some people that argue that say this problem of whats it like to be a bat like i cant know what its like to be a bit say this problem of whats it like to be a bat like i cant know what its like to be a bag because i dont have sonar this echolocation system and the big ears to pick up because i dont have sonar this echolocation system and the big ears to pick up the sound bouncing up objects in the brain apparatus to process the. Sound bouncing up objects in the brain apparatus to process the sound information and so on i can know what its like to be a bad back cant know what its like to be sound information and so on i can know what its like to be a bad back cant know what its like to be me and so whatever lets say a thing in the environment looking at me and so whatever lets say a thing in the environment looks like to a bat it probably doesnt look like that to me we probably have very different images of like to a bat it probably doesnt look like that to me we probably have very different images of what the world looks like but there still really is say a wall here and if the bat is for what the world looks like but there still really is say a wall here and if the bat is flying toward it its going to move around the wall and i see the wall or i feel the wind toward it its going to move around the wall and i see the wall or i feel the wall the bat heres the wall the sensory apparatus is different the neural structure of all the bad heres the wall the sensory apparatus is different the neural structure of processing the sensory information is different between me and the bat but there really are walls the real processing the sensory information is different between me and the bat but there really are. Wallace there really are things that we have to navigate around in the world so that part is not an illusion thats a car things that we have to navigate around in the world so that part is not an illusion thats reality so i argue that we evolve senses that give us a parents reality so i argue that we evolve senses that give us a fairly accurate portrait of what the world is really like and in the belly accurate portrait of what the world is really like and in the best tool we have for understanding that world is science because subjectively you and i may just to we have for understanding that world is science because subjectively you and i may be wrong or or or distorted or in our or suffering from the wrong or or or distorted or in our or suffering from illusions but collectively we can get an accurate picture of the world so well but collectively we can get an accurate picture of the world ok so well what about creativity how dast creativity of fact our ability to believe what about creativity how desk creativity a fact our ability to believe in things does that mean that the richer mention ation we have the more limited things does that mean that the richer mention ation we have the more likely we are to believe weird stuff or not necessarily i think theres a really clear were to believe weird stuff or not necessarily. I think theres a relationship between this and the believing brain i. Toyed with the idea that this chip between this and the believing brain i i toyed with the idea that this relationship between say madness and creativity or that that people are those who are very relationship between say madness and creativity or that that people are they who are very open to new ideas they can they make connections across disciplines open to new ideas they can they make connections across disciplines or new fields that you and i maybe wouldnt make but that there are so new fields that you and i maybe wouldnt make but that theyre so open to new ideas they also believe a lot of wacky ideas so for example open to new ideas they also believe a lot of wacky ideas so for example i know a lot of really smart people nobel Prize Winners and so on they believe the weirdest things like i know a lot of really smart people nobel Prize Winners and so on they believe the weirdest things like what and in part i sometimes wonder. Oh like what and part i sometimes wonder if its be 0 like 911. 00 was a conspiracy or that astrology works or that e. S. P. Is real 911. 00 was a conspiracy or that astrology works or that e. S. P. Is real these kinds of things that most scientists and skeptics are skeptical they think there might be something to that these kinds of things that most scientists and skeptics are skeptical they think there might be something to this i talked in the believe in brain about kary mullis who won the nobel prize for his talk in the believe in brain about kary mullis who won the nobel prize for his work in genetics the p. C. R. Technique of taking a little work in genetics the p. C. R. Technique of taking a little snippet of d. N. A. And then reproducing that its a very common technique that carry most super interest but of d. N. A. And then reproducing that its a very common technique that. Kary mullis super interesting super smart creative guy he drum he dreamt up this this solution to the super smart creative guy he drum he dreamt up this this solution to this problem for which he won the nobel prize while he was surfing and smoke this problem for which he won the nobel prize while he was surfing and smoking pot and just kind of having a creative moment out in nature you know. Like you want to be in pot and just kind of having a creative moment out in nature you know. Like you and i are not going to have that kind of experience all right or einstein has this dream of flaw and i are not going to have that kind of experience all right or einstein has this dream of flying on a beam of light yeah whoa ok i dont have dreams like that name on a beam of light yeah whoa ok i dont have dreams like that but but that kind of openness and creativity might lead you to think you cant but but that kind of openness and creativity might lead you to think well all these other things are real not all of them are real sometimes they create while all these other things are real not all of them are real sometimes the Creative Ideas you come up with are just theyre just great crazy theyre theyre crackerjack theyre not out of ideas you come up with are just theyre just great crazy theyre theyre crackerjack theyre not real and so the rub here is to have a mind open enough the real and so the rub here is to have a mind open enough to accept radical new Creative Ideas that no one else has thought of that turn out to be right to accept radical new Creative Ideas that no one else has thought of that turn out to be right but not so open minded that you believe every wacky idea that comes down the pike. But not so open minded that you believe everywhere the idea that comes down the pike and so you know when people say well you kno