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Old 02-27-2011, 01:56 PM   #39 (permalink)
jamesqf
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Odin View Post
just because you refuse to look at evidence, doesn't mean its not there.
And just because you've decided to see evidence in random patterns doesn't mean it's really there :-)

It's really down to evolutionary neurobiology: the human brain has evolved to be a very good pattern-detector. It's so good that it can even see patterns that don't exist. After all, what's the evolutionary cost of thinking you see a tiger that's not really there, versus the cost of not seeing the one that is? So you look at something random - clouds, leaves against the sky, the texture of a ceiling - let your mind unfocus a bit, and you'll start seeing all sorts of things. That's why people can see Jesus in a scorched tortilla, or a corporate conspiracy in perfectly rational acts.
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