Seeing Reality As It Is: How our Beliefs and Genetic Chaperones shape our perceptions

Giovannoli, Joseph L; Markowitz, Lisa Jane

ISBN 10: 1733339302 / ISBN 13: 9781733339308

Edité par Research Associates, LLC (edition ), 2019

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Seeing Reality As It Is: How our Beliefs and Genetic Chaperones shape our perceptions
• Éditeur: Research Associates, LLC (edition )
• Date de parution: 2019
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 1733339302
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9781733339308
• Reliure: Paperback
• Illustrateur: Giovannoli, Thomas; Smith, Giaccone &
• État de l'article: Very Good

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Synopsis

Seeing Reality As It Is examines the question - If there is only one reality, why can't we agree on what it is? If we understand why we each perceive reality in our own way, we are more likely to manage problems such as political polarization and climate change. An example of perceiving reality in our own way is seen when we compare the color perceptions of those who are normally sighted and those who are colorblind. Genetic differences in their ability to sense color cause them to experience different perceptions from a common color experience. In much the same way, we are all born with slightly different brain circuits, biases of different strengths, and different levels of thought-altering neurochemicals. These differences in our biases and brain traits are the primary reason we perceive the same reality in different ways and thereby disagree about what reality is. The author describes our personal combination of biases and brain traits as our "genetic chaperone." And, as with colorblindness, we are unaware that we have a genetic chaperone until it is brought to our attention. In essence, our chaperones adapted to aid our survival over countless ancestral trial and error survival experiences. They don't provide an understanding of reality but instead create false perceptions that cause us to behave or respond "as if" we understand reality. In one example, being excessively concerned about hearing a noise in the dark (a negativity bias) can cause you to prepare for the worst, thereby making your survival more likely. Since our genetic chaperones shape our perceptions and our perceptions shape our beliefs, we are inclined to acquire systems of beliefs that don't reflect reality as it is. Instead, our belief systems reflect our chaperone's version of reality. Our difficulty in seeing reality clearly is compounded by social media data collecting. Data that reveals the nature of our genetic chaperones is being used by "chaperone hackers" (modern propagandists) to manipulate how we see reality. Hackers use our genetic chaperone profiles to create chaperone-triggering personalized fake news, contrived social media events, and so on to achieve their goals by influencing what we believe. In so doing, chaperone hackers are compounding our difficulty in agreeing on what reality is. In view of our reality-distorting genetic chaperones and the hackers who use them to manipulate us, there are a few ways to promote agreeing on what reality is. One is to understand why we have genetic chaperones and how they work. Another is to learn how to recognize when hackers are attempting to play us like string puppets.KIRKUS REVIEWSWhy do we all perceive reality so differently? Why does a scientist see such a different world when she gets up in the morning than a theologian might see---or even another scientist? “Our history appears to be a series of ongoing disagreements over what is real or true,” observes Giovannoli at the beginning of this work, which seeks to synthesize the findings of many separate fields of study in order to put forth a cohesive theory for our individualized perceptions. He argues that our brains developed not to perceive the world accurately, but rather to help us survive… While this reality-shaping instinct---Giovannoli calls it our “chaperone”---aided our ancestors, it has proven in more recent millennia to be highly susceptible to manipulation. The author theorizes how such a function arose in the first place, how that function operates in our brains, how a belief system comes to be formed, and the ways that culture can be transmitted across generations or groups.…the author attempts to show not only how people can see things so differently, but why they shouldn’t allow that fact to make them enemies. …there is much here that is deeply fascinating and may prove to be very persuasive … An original, highly intriguing theory on how and why beliefs are formed, inherited, and transmitted.