Visualize & Go Beyond the Limits of Your Mind
The Neuroscience of How Your Brain Narrows Down Your Possibilities and How to Expand Them
Even before you’ve had a chance to think about how you react to any of life’s opportunities, your brain has already narrowed your responses down to a small range. The actions you take only represent a percentage of what action you could potentially take. You may not even be aware of the countless other possibilities that exist.
Every time you log into Youtube, you notice dozens of customized suggestions for what video you should watch next. How does Youtube know what you are likely to enjoy? There is nothing mysterious going on here — it uses an algorithm. Using our viewing history as an indicator, the algorithm curates videos that are similar to ones that we’ve watched before. Our brain isn’t much different. It uses shortcuts to show us those aspects of reality that we expect to see — based on our memories, beliefs, and most commonly felt emotions.
“We are each wearing a unique set of diffracting lenses over our eyes and filtering earphones over our ears which select and translate what we see and hear before they reach consciousness. We are all exactly like pilots, each flying on our own uniquely programmed autopilot.” — Eugene Shea
