Quote:
Originally Posted by Emily Henderson
The problem is that we did not evolve a baloney-detection device in our brains to discriminate between true and false patterns. So we make two types of errors: a type I error, or false positive, is believing a pattern is real when it is not; a type II error, or false negative, is not believing a pattern is real when it is. If you believe that the rustle in the grass is a dangerous predator when it is just the wind (a type I error), you are more likely to survive than if you believe that the rustle in the grass is just the wind when it is a dangerous predator (a type II error). Because the cost of making a type I error is less than the cost of making a type II error and because there is no time for careful deliberation between patternicities in the split-second world of predator-prey interactions, natural selection would have favored those animals most likely to assume that all patterns are real. .."
Our brains are hard wired to lean toward making 'type I' errors, leading people to make erroneous connections all the time.
|
This is not the complete picture, we are social creatures, so our brains are hard-wired to avoid being rejected by the majority at all cost.
Our brains will make 'Type II' errors all day long if it means confirming to the opinion of the majority.
The appeal of Christianity must then be considered to be a social and not an intellectual matter, like 90% of our struggle.