Michael Shermer: The pattern behind self-deception

The video explores the nature of belief, pattern recognition, and cognitive errors. It discusses how humans are naturally inclined to believe and find patterns, even in meaningless noise, due to evolutionary processes. The role of dopamine in pattern recognition and its impact on creativity and psychotic behavior is examined. The concept of agenticity, where people attribute intention and agency to patterns, is linked to belief in conspiracy theories. The video also demonstrates cognitive priming and visual illusions, highlighting how perception can be easily fooled.

What was the ADE 651 device falsely claimed to detect?

• Oil

• Explosives

• Water

• Gold

According to the speaker, what is the natural state of humans?

• Belief

• Skepticism

• Curiosity

• Indifference

What is 'patternicity' as described in the talk?

• The ability to remember patterns

• The tendency to find meaningful patterns in noise

• The habit of ignoring patterns

• The skill of creating new patterns

What is a Type I error in pattern recognition?

• Ignoring all patterns

• Believing a pattern is real when it is not

• Creating false patterns

• Not believing a pattern is real when it is

What role does dopamine play in pattern recognition?

• It only affects memory

• It increases the likelihood of seeing patterns

• It has no effect on pattern recognition

• It decreases pattern recognition

How does an increase in dopamine affect creativity?

• It only affects memory

• It decreases creativity

• It increases creativity

• It has no effect on creativity

What is 'agenticity' as described in the talk?

• The habit of ignoring patterns

• The ability to create new patterns

• The tendency to attribute intention to patterns

• The tendency to see patterns in randomness

Which of the following is an example of agenticity?

• Creating new patterns

• Ignoring patterns

• Memorizing patterns

• Believing in ghosts

What is the basis of many conspiracy theories according to the speaker?

• Lack of evidence

• Agenticity

• Random events

• Scientific proof

What is the relationship between pattern detection and conspiracy theories?

• Conspiracy theories are unrelated to pattern detection

• Conspiracy theories are based on real patterns

• Conspiracy theories are always true

• Conspiracy theories often arise from false pattern detection