The Cognitive Basis of Superstition and Belief in the Supernatural 

Yep, the placebo effect in practice, where the brain believes it's being healed or helped so it releases those good ole happy chemicals and makes you feel better. Fascinating subject

placebo is soo interesting, you guys should check out vsauce's experiment about it, prettyy cool

Placebo can be a remarkably powerful.

yeahhh fr brain releases them chemicals makes you feel good, reduces pain incase of an injury but the underlying pathology is still growing

how to deal with difficulties: 1) gaslight yourself sometimes wikihow knows its stuff

that sucks

I used to think god was real... I had severe doubts 15 years ago and then dumped the belief entirely 10 years ago. Also because of "her".

What you sow is what you get, is this even something to believe?

​@@rickkwitkoski1976You somehow knew this guy's wife?😲 😉

Divorce sucks ass. But you’re right, at least people who treat others like garbage are more likely to face negative consequences. It’s when they don’t face consequences that makes things really annoying. 2 of the worst people I’ve ever met in my life are probably still scamming people for money to buy shoes and clothes. The funny thing is that they’re doing all of this while being members of a religious cult I use to be in…

This needs to be higher!!! Totally with you on this!

Agree

I don't understand how you can stop to believe in karma? It doesn't teach punishment. Karma speaks about the process of probabilities in actions. It's about bettering yourself as a human being so that you can be reborn into the next realm (Good Karma will have you be reborn as a god, bad Karma will have you be reborn as an animal). There is no punishment involved because Karma is a dynamic & cyclical concept. If you were to live the worst possible life imaginable (murder, rape, et cetera) you would find yourself reborn in one of the many Hells were your body would be cleansed by Enma so that you can be reborn from a clean slate and start the cycling of collecting Karma once again. This is what is meant by Samsara. Essentially, Karma & the rebirth is an allegory of life. Create good actions and the chances of good things happening will increase, and vice versa. I would all together just stop treating religious ideas as something one can belief in, and instead just treat them as stories meant to be interpreted. That's what they were meant to be originally, concepts to be analyzed and thought about and not just blindly followed. The thousand arm buddha (Kan'non) represents the complexity of "truth" through having an eye in each of her endless palms, seeing endless perceptions of reality.

@@dydx_ stop. please stop. I know what the concept of karma is. The problem is the overlap of "getting what you deserve" that underlies this focus on punishment is from christian religion. There's a healthy interpretation of karma being that there's a sort of virtuous spiral because acts of compassion beget acts of compassion. And that's the same with unkind acts. That being said, having the neutrality of the concept that it's about how behavior has impacts makes things a lot more honest because you're not behaving in a way that you believe will come back in a good way for your own benefit, you're understanding that compassion and kindness is something you want to do regardless of if it comes back around to benefit you because you know that's not necessarily going to happen. And you also understand that if something bad does happen, that it's not because you're some bad person, absolutely just a random cause of events and that's okay.

​@@Sarah-re7cg We know stuff that happens in life is random. Its not rocket science. The thing is, why don't we see it in the perspective of karma? That way we would be morally bound to do good in the hopes that bad things won't happen to us.

This is why religious people wonder how non religious people could possibly have morality because we don’t believe we’re being watched. Which is essentially admitting that they are only moral because they think they’re being watched. Though I do believe they would be moral without their religion, since many Xtians when pressed will admit that they believe their god has done and condoned things that they themselves find immoral.

The intentional stance seems hard-wired.

This is some very hardly contrived rationalization LMFAO. You stepped down to some freudian level of fucking your mom bullshit. Correlation is not equal to causation. When you wish to dabble with psychology, you can not allow yourself to generalize to such an extent. Factually speaking: The "intent" thing most likely comes from Christianity. It is definitely not "hard-wired" into us. You can see this when you look at nations like India and people before the emergence of Christianity. This "intent" thing is Christian/Muslim (Historically the, Catholic Church united war-torn Europe at the time through spreading the idea that one EXISTS BECAUSE GOD does you HAVE TO LIVE TO SERVE GOD. This is how they gained power because the Church is the place people have to go to to learn and live according to the words of their gods. If you teach people that they were created on purpose through a omnipotent sentient deity, it leads them to ask why this all-powerful deity has chosen to create them with all the suffering in life. You should research this, I think it would be of benefit for you to understand how faith shapes your perception of reality even if you choose to not believe in it). Anecdotal: I rarely have encountered someone here in Japan believing that there is a reason for why we are nor one who really cares or wants to know; we just kinda are and that's it. The meaning of life, and why we exist is a topic that comes up in plenty of literature. Usually the reason for why we are is a reason that we need to discover for ourselves. If you ever wondered why so many (In relation to the rest of the world) take their craft more serious then the functionality of the creation or the health of our bodies sacrificed in pursuit of our craft, this is one of the factors together with collectivism & shinto. There is no concept for "needing to know why we have to exist", people who speak about this are treated like outcasts, you do not need to know what serves no purpose. As such moral relativism is at the heart of this culture. You can see the lack of needing to know why we exist when looking at ancient Greek mythology too (In case you need some more "western" example). There is no real myth about why humans exist. The only myth there is is the creation, At first there is Chaos alone. Chronos cuts off the Penis from Uranus when he tried having sex with Gaia. This only tells the origin of life, but does not given an intent. There were some outliers, primarily in the mystery religions such as Orphism which believed in salvation from suffering through discarding the Titan blood thus purifying one's divine soul of Dionysus (The approach comes from believing humanity is born out of the ashes from titans and Dionysus after the battle of the gods.) If you look outside your western borders you might realize that most cultures live without this weird obsession, and the cultures that speak of intent are usually the ones with mainly Abrahamic origins or majority of faith. Others (like indians) intent is simply a poetic description on how to get along with others according to their household deity. The only real constant I can think off is the constant of suffering, which to me speaks more about people who never were taught about how to process pain/suffering properly. Strong negative emotions tend to be what most people who turn religious at an older age seem to have in common, though I lack data to corroborate.

IMO, that is a much better hypothesis for the human bias towards assigning agency than the "lion in the bush" story. Humans are very reliant on learning, especially social learning.

Isn't quantum physics a science? The observer can affect the outcome.

@@hamishanderson6738 Maybe doesn't mean quite what you think it means... Physicists love using common words in peculiar ways ;) An 'observer' is just any measuring device, not just someone/something conscious. Better wording is probably: It is impossible to measure a property of something without affecting some other property of it.

You should see it play out in a baseball dugout. Rally caps, inside out socks, unwashed uniforms, crazy pregame meals…

The OP in specific reminded me of cargo cults.

Being in the zone may increase your chances but it doesn't guarantee success. (mr obvious here)

Yeah the analogies weren't perfect (like the socks, they could help you focus in some obscure way) but they're still pretty good.

if you actually watch the whole video he mentions what you people are saying.

not only that but if you're taking repeated shots at the same target you can figure out the right force and direction to push the ball in after repeated trials (so the instances of the event are not independent)

Even if the events are independent, the correlation may still be causally derived, since they may have increased performance temporarily due to external factors that are causally linked (ie they had a good routine that day, slept well, are happy, are fit and energised), so even if you don't *necessarily* conclude anything from the samples, at least some part of the sample is a determinant in the future outcomes (in short, the "50% average" of the player is only correct between days, not within a single day)

It’s hard to escape the way your brain was wired to be, so it’s not surprising that it still works.

I'm pretty sure they're stock graphics, the style is pretty inconsistent, but it still is definitely an improvement.

credits in the description

Oopsie, you might want to check out his calendar at 0:13 in this video. See whether you can find as many errors as I did.

It's why I always take 2 bombs with me on a plane. The odds of there being 3 are even more miniscule...

True, but with all sporting events, any player or team can go on a statistically plausible winning or losing streak. These can then be exacerbated by an increase or decrease of confidence. It's important that the statistical probabilities are understood.

I think that study can just as easily mean that people can be tricked and misdirected if you make a situation look like a different situation, and that the flow of time is subjective. Without counting, how easily will you know something comes in exactly 30-second intervals? n Now imagine you're in a new situation and there's a bunch of random levers. Just an alternative reading, psychological studies are very up to interpretation.

@@Shoobster the point though was that most participants were extremely confident that their actions dictated when the money was dispensed even though there was no logical reason to believe this. It speaks loudly to how hard our brains try to link correlation to causation even when there is no reason to do so, and thus superstition is created.

@@Shoobster yes, i doubt I would have had the precise timing of 30 seconds down, but I do think most people would have figured it out much sooner if there weren't buttons, levers, and switches (the illusion of agency). it's those inert devices (which stand in place of rituals, religions, superstitions, etc.) that cause a false sense of agency of pre-determined outcomes

Professor Dave mentioned this as a final concession in the video.

This. People shit on religion so much that they forget that it's not meant to be taken for word. It's simply an intangible construct which we seek to help us out during distress.

To be fair to her, she's a nurse so probably every night is crazy to some degree

I worked at a youth correctional facility. Crazy things happened all the time. There would always be an increase around a full moon. Was never something I thought to be true until experienced first hand.

@@SgtD85 Likely specially due to the stories around it leads people to act out more then rather than causing it though.

@@thunderspark1536 you honestly think there are people who are like ooooooh full moon time to act the crazy?

@@SgtD85 My man, there are people who eat tide pods. You underestimate the stupidity of humanity if you think people wouldn't act out just cause "haha funny full moon"

The debunk classics

Actually, religion has often absolutely destroyed the political structure. I am a Zoroastrian, and that is how my religion started. I consider my religion to complement my Marxism.

@Chris Paul I think you have the very wrong idea about atheists and agnostics. I was raised Catholic and broke off from it coming of age. This comment "God will show you the absolute truth if you desire it and leave your arrogance at the door." is the definition of arrogance. We are humans. We don't know what we do not know and I find it to be a new order of arrogance when humans try to tell me what God is and is not and especially what is means to have a relationship with said higher being. You don't own this concept. Man, human whatever does not own this concept. Belief in the concept of a higher being is one thing, belief in a christian god is another. This video isn't some kind of "debunking" of the concept of a higher being itself, it's about the secular roles tainted by human who utilize religion as a weapon and psychological fallback for comfort and control and order. All I have to say is don't tell me who God is and what a relationship with this being looks like because if that's what you think it is, good for you but you don't own it as a concept.

@Chris Paul you just gave an account of a psychological benefit of religion in your life lol what? Also, giving one counter example of religion having a negative effect on psychological health doesn’t knock down the argument of psychological benefit lol okay, that’s nice you’re sharing that with me, it’s actually a supporting example of what I said in the first place. What I said isn’t a straw man, but ironically after you made that claim you yourself made a straw man. 🤦🏻‍♀️ no, I’m not insinuating that at all.

@Chris Paul ??? I’m not an atheist lol I’m agnostic. No, I think you’re the only one…why would that in any way be ironic? Also, again, your entire story you shared, you’re talking about how faith helped you through a really emotional and challenging time. Okay, it’s not going out on a limb to say that religion has been a great psychological benefit to you. I don’t understand why you commented in the first place because your comment supported my original comment anyways. You just seem like someone is threatening your faith now or something. This video doesn’t take anything away from the concept of god and the existence of a higher being. It’s talking about the sociological and psychological implications of organized religion.

Correct. Dave told that in the beginning of the video.

because there obviously is no scientific basis for any superstitious beliefs or ghost

You just repeated was said in the video. Why?

Are you a bot?

Is this an Ai?

That isn’t really superstition though, because it actually worked.

You literally just described the Placebo Effect, one of the main arguments AGAINST the supernatural

@@BernardoPGHave you ever considered why the Placebo Effect even works to begin with?

@@OGreenWorId ??? Do you know what the placebo effect is? If Im in pain, and I take somethin that I THINK relieves the pain, my brain will reward that action with dopamine which IS a painkiller. But I havent actually treated anything. When that dopamine wears off, the problem will still be there

What do you think of "The Gospel of Afranius", the debunking of the resurrection of Jesus?

Well done. Keep it up. ☘️☘️☘️

Death doesn’t scare me since it’s like being asleep, but pain that typically comes before it is another story lol

@@Pancakegr8 Yeah, makes perfect sense, haha

Nicely put

@@Pancakegr8 personally I don't like the idea of my entire consciousness ceasing to exist... I'm not entirely sure if I'd rather an eternity of torture so long as I get to exist forever, but my bias is heavily in favour of staying existent. (so if I'm being consistent, the pain that usually precedes death is not so much the concern as it is death itself)

@@Pancakegr8 clarifying further, I would say that why I do not fear sleep compared to death is 1. I am still in some sense conscious while asleep, just delerious 2. I am sure to regain my normal state of consciousness eventually (so all I have lost is time, not myself)

It’s also a superstition in the hospital

I've worked a lot of labor jobs and dudes who work outside are the same way about saying "wind" outloud

@@spacix4118 I work in community pharmacy. I have observed the customers do arrive in waves, so I theorise that it probably has more to do with the bus times.

I wonder what you think of "The Gospel of Afranius", the debunking of the resurrection of Jesus?

@@valinorean4816 I haven't read that, so I'm unable to give my thoughts. However, there is no need to debunk resurrection stories; they debunk themselves by proposing that the laws of physics have been suspended.

@@spectreskeptic3493 The problem is that this is not a convincing reply for a believer, who thinks that with God everything is possible and all that - whereas that work actually makes them silent, in my experience! But don't take my word for it - do you know someone religious who you debated a lot, were frustrated with, etc? Send it to them and watch their reaction! (you can find it in Wikipedia, for example)

@@valinorean4816 Okay, I'll have a look and let you know my thoughts.

@@valinorean4816 I read the wiki and looks interesting. I've heard apologists dismiss these kinds of "alternative" explanations and insist the Bible is inerrant and therefore the miraculous accounts must be true. However, I'm intrigued, so I've added it to my book list. Thanks.

No, it's more of what goes around can come around. Did you even watch the video? It's literally not a fact if it hasn't been proven without a shadow of a doubt. It would be the biggest thing since the invention of vaccines to learn karma is real.

God is real

@@hypersonic6649 all 9,794 of them or just yours?

How so? Confirmation bias plays a huge role in (preserving) religion. Reality deniers *_start_* with their views and keep believing them no matter what. By contrast, facts of the world are no (presupposed) beliefs. They are unbiased and tested conclusions. Here in reality among honest and rational people, one seeks falsification. But if none occurs, then it's far from being a confirmation bias. It's just that the fact of the world really is a fact of the world. So you lie about what actually happens. Clown you. LIAR you.

@@TheBastius Thanks for engaging! Fair points. I'm not denying what you say. Rather, I'm going one further and saying that everyone starts with a view, not just the reality deniers. Let's talk falsifiability. Belief in a single reality for all people is in fact an unfalsifiable claim (ask all the "neuroscience" people). Others' experiences are unreachable, and so you have no means to test the claim. There is no way of finding the evidence that would prove/disprove the claim, because it would require such access. Nothing in the realm of metaphysics is falsifiable through empirical exploration, including the principles of logic you seem to appreciate. Reliance on scientific laws, even though they have been soundly confirmed through, in some cases, centuries of testing, is ultimately an unprovable starting point, because it assumes the same thing will happen next time. A reasonable conclusion, but unprovable nonetheless. Yet the entire engineering world is built on this assumption. So, rationalist or spiritual cuckoo, at some point you have to assume something, or you're left with absolutely nothing. That's not to say there isn't sufficient circumstantial evidence for a person to rationally make those assumptions. Let's just be honest about the start. So, here's the question: What if the religious folk aren't so irrational as many assume?