Introduction: Daily Hallucinations and the Beautiful Human Brain
Look at this photo:
This post not brought to you by BMW.*
Do you see a face? A lot of people do. The spacing of headlights to radiator openings, the roundness of the lights themselves: It’s enough to resemble a face. Or rather, it’s enough for your brain to perceive it as resembling a face.
The psychological phenomenon that causes people to perceive patterns in random stimuli is called pareidolia. It is one of several reasons why we tend to ascribe human characteristics to inanimate objects.**
There’s more. Electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) is auditory pareidolia: You perceive sensible sounds (words) in noise that is otherwise nonsense. This, in part, is why certain songs, when played backward, sound like they contain messages (to some people).
The broad, technical term for the phenomenon whereby our brains construct meaning where it shouldn’t be is apophenia, the tendency for human beings to perceive patterns where there are none.
So, why are we so pattern loving? There’s no single answer. Evolutionary biology would have us believe we are good at pattern recognition because it helped us to survive and reproduce—noticing a certain kind of berry was killing all your friends meant you could stick around long enough to have kids. Neuroscience might argue that apophenia is a function of incremental learning. Adaptive resonance theory (ART), for instance, posits that we observe stimuli, compare it to an established “class” or model for a concept, and then if the stimuli does not exceed a threshold known as the ‘vigilance parameter,’ conclude it is a member of the respective class. This, in turn, marginally expands our definition of that class.***
That’s all good and fine, but so what? Who cares if we see patterns where they don’t exist? Isn’t that nice? Well, yes, it can be nice (I’ll return to that). But seeking the comfort of a pattern where none exists is dangerous.**** More so than ever in our increasingly information-rich world.
For the rest of this essay, when I refer to a “because,” I am referring to the collapse of the unknown, the establishing of cause and effect, a rejection of complexity.
Oral Tradition and the Internet
Close your eyes. Picture a “prehistoric" human. Whatever that means to you. Okay, stop. What did you come up with?
Chances are, you thought of something Flintstone-esque. That’s okay. The societal narrative around “prehistoric” humans has leaned towards the simplistic. But, contrary to pop-culture iconography, there is a substantial body of evidence suggesting “prehistoric” humans were biologically indistinguishable from us. I should clarify that by “prehistoric” I mean the period between 50,000 years ago and 5,000 years ago: 50,000 years ago because that is our best guess at when behavioral modernity begins and 5,000 years ago because that is when the historical record begins (thank the ancient Sumerians, who were kind enough to record merchant transactions on clay tablets in cuneiform script).***** Everything in between is “prehistoric.” Literally.
There’s been some debate about whether or not ancient humans had a better memory than we do today. The thinking goes that they used their memory more than we did, and thus it was better. I’ve yet to see compelling evidence for this theory, although I do believe memory adapts to being used. In this way, it is like a muscle. So, if prehistoric humans had to remember all the plants they could and couldn’t eat, when the rains would come, what animals migrated where and when, and so on, then we can at least say that memory was important to them.
Memory was also prized in the Academies of Ancient Greece and Rome, as well as the monasteries of Medieval Europe. A majority of the curriculum revolved around recall proficiency—rhetoric, for instance, relies heavily on holding a large number of talking points in one’s head, and knowing when to use them. It would not be uncommon for students to memorize entire speeches, poems, histories, and biblical passages, to then recite them for an instructor.
Fast forward to today, and intelligence is much less a function of rote memorization and much more the product of knowing how to access the right information when you need it. If, in the 15th-century, access to information was a privilege of the educated elite, then in the 21st century, the ability to make sense of information, to parse sources, will be the hallmark of privilege. This trend is already beginning in elite primary schools in the United States, where students are learning to differentiate between credible sources of information.
The super genius kids of tomorrow will not necessarily be the spelling-bee champions but the ones who can ruthlessly access the information they need, differentiate fact from fiction, and, as an end product, re-present information in novel combinations (writing, coding, etc.).******
In a landscape of excessive information, being able to reframe from a “because” right away is an advantage: Too often, the abundance of information lulls our pattern-loving brains into faulty correlations.
The first reason to be wary of “because”
1. It oversimplifies, and increasingly so, given the information-rich landscape we live in today. Try to withhold judgment, think laterally, and when needing to draw a conclusion, be cautious in your understanding. Be vigilant for confirmation bias, which is easier than ever to fall into these days. Befriend people with different points of view.
We Live in a Black Box
Here’s a big claim: We live in a black box society. What does that mean? What is a “black box?” A “black box” is a metaphor for a situation where the relationship between inputs and outputs is obscured. In simplest terms, as the world is growing more complex, connected, globalized, it is simultaneously becoming increasingly difficult to establish cause and effect. Not only that but as media outlets and social media newsfeeds tailer to individual consumer segments, people are becoming more siloed in their understanding of the world. Given this, the ability to create compelling, simplistic explanations for phenomena is becoming increasingly valuable. As humans, we have a tendency to admire and follow those who make the world make sense to us (we call them ‘charismatic’). This is to say, as the world becomes more complex—and therefore harder to understand and to some, scarier, those who paint it in terms of reduced complexity amass more influence. Although it requires cognitive effort in the form of distancing, we should be wary of explanations that make intuitive sense to us, especially in politics and in business.
The second reason to be wary of “because”
2. Drawing simplistic correlations is becoming increasingly comforting. The people who make the world simpler are amassing more influence. But those “becauses” often smooth-over the much more complicated truth, which is worth uncovering.
Self-fulling Prophecies and Silent Mediation
The third reason to be wary of “because” is that associating a "because" to the events of your life can get you stuck. This is not to say we don’t influence our outcomes. We certainly do. But bad things can happen to good people for no reason. Trying to make sense of that is an exercise in brutal futility.
The same is true of good things. We all have periods of luck. Luck, in some ways, is the ultimate equalizer.
With the understanding that the events of our lives lie partially outside of our control, we should not try to ascribe a “because” but rather accept the situation and try to make the best of it. Think of it like this: if something bad is happening to you, and you chose to associate a reason, then in some ways, that bad thing becomes your fault (disempowering). If, conversely, a good thing befalls you and you chose to “because” it, then you’ve effectively elevated yourself to a level above other people (self-aggrandizing). This is not to say that people do not make their own luck. You can put yourself in situations with probabilistically higher odds for success.******* But as much as you can put yourself in a position for success or failure, so too is the outcome of your positioning due to phenomena outside of your control. Recognizing this—essentially, rejecting determinism and embracing randomness—can be incredibly empowering. It allows you to shift your focus from how good or bad a situation is, to how you will choose to respond to it. In this case, be gracious for the blessings in your life. Capitalize on them. Try to give back. And when you encounter rough patches, move through them as best you can; recognize they are a part of life. By no means do they make you a bad person.
This idea of trying to observe your situation from outside of yourself may be familiar to those who practice mindfulness meditation. The aim here is to follow your breath as it enters your body. Leaves your body. In and out, without judgment. Breath is breath, nothing more.
The third reason to be wary of “because”
3. “Because” compounds your emotional state. Bad things can happen for no reason. You should not think of them as reflective of your self-worth. Similarly, be grateful for the good things in your life. Don’t self-aggrandize. Learn to evaluate your present objectively, or better yet, externally, without making value-judgments.
The Boston Marathon and Finishing Destiny
Recently, I had the privilege of attending a talk given by Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entrant. She was delightful and inspiring. Above all, she displayed a particular humility I found to be not only endearing but empowering.
When Kathrine describes why she entered the 1967 Boston Marathon, she says it was because she had heard so much about it that she wanted to experience it for herself. Her intention was not to make a statement. In fact, she didn’t even think she would make one. As a sports’ journalist, Kathrine knew a woman had run Boston the year before.******** That woman, Bobbi Gibb, would run the race in 1967 as well, finishing over an hour ahead of Kathrine. But Bobbi had not and would not receive the same media attention as Kathrine, who entered the race under her initials K.V. Switzer, an act which made her the first woman to register for the race (even if the race authorities did not realize it).
A few miles into the marathon, and the race director, Jock Semple, a large red-faced man, ran onto the course in his leather loafers and tried to rip the bib number off Kathrine’s chest. The ensuing skirmish was visually arresting, and it just so happened that the media truck was directly in front of Kathrine when the encounter took place. The famous photos that came out of that moment would go on to set into motion a debate over women's’ athletics that Kathrine, herself, would spear-head. But all of that happened after the fact. In the moments after the skirmish, as the adrenal wore off and the gravity of the situation dawned on her, Kathrine said she had a choice:
“People say that I was destined to do it. But I wasn’t. That moment was a coincidence. But I decided to finish the race. Destiny is about finishing the job.”
Destiny hands us a series of meaningful coincidences, and it is up to us to make the most of them.
The fourth reason to be wary of “because”
4. You are capable of far more than you think. “Because” is self-fulfilling. It limits you. When faced with a meaningful coincidence, be sure to finish the job.
Conclusion: Synchronicity Without a Why
Karl Jung formulated a concept called synchronicity, the phenomenon in which meaningful events occur randomly. There’s been debate over whether or not the rate of synchronicity is tied to a cause, and this verges on pseudo-science, but insofar as time is long and events are numerous, and therefore life can be filled with meaningful coincidences, I like the idea of synchronicity.
To this end, I want to conclude with a moment from Slaughterhouse-five where Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist, is talking to the Tralfamadorians, some very smart aliens.
He asks them why they’ve chosen him, which is to say, he asks for an explanation as to the cause and effect of a meaningful coincidence. They respond:
"Why you? Why us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?…Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why."
Epilogue: Because “Because” Comforts
And yet, even when all signs point to a meaningful coincidence, it can be comforting to interpret a "because."
A little over a month ago, I was running down a dirt road near my grandparent’s house. This dirt road was where I always ran when I visited them. Often, I would go there to blow off steam after comporting myself to table manners and small talk in a hot house for most of the day.
But on that afternoon, I was tired. The sky was thickly clouded. The trees on either side of the dirt road looked flat and gray. I had been running for some time since the funeral earlier in the day.
Five miles into the run, I was no more tired than when I started. I was no less tired, either. I was settling into my thoughts, unaware of the workings of my body. Numbed, you could say, I began to think about my grandmother.
She was sitting alone in the house they had lived in for fifty years. The house where she had raised my mother. The house that was filled with pictures of my grandfather. One of him in the Air Force. One of them on their wedding day. She was sitting alone in that house with all those memories and the clocks that rang on the quarter-hour. And I did not know how she felt. But I would not have wanted that.
I couldn’t do much, but I could call her more, I decided. I would try to call her every day for the next three weeks. Just as I thought that the clouds behind me parted. A beam of sunlight shot down the road between the trees like an arrow and struck my back. It cast my shadow on the ground before me. I was ringed in light long enough for me to think, maybe this is what the supernatural is. Then it went away.
Meaningful coincidence or not, it didn’t matter. It comforted me just the same.
The sky by the time I finished running
Footnotes:
*BMW, please sponsor me
**Another, I would argue, is that it is comforting.
***I don’t have evidence for this, but I believe this categorical expansion is one fundamental reason why we are able to perceive increasing complexity and nuance in the world as we age (also known as “wisdom”).
****I would argue the only thing more dangerous than a pattern derived from nothing is a pattern derived from something incomplete. The latter phenomenon can often be the result of confirmation bias, the human tendency to subconsciously cherry-pick evidence supporting our belief.
*****Behavioral modernity is the suit of behaviors that differentiates homo sapiens from other primate groups. Among these behaviors are abstract thinking, symbolic behavior, creating art, fashioning knives. You know, the good stuff.
******Actually, those who can draw connections between disparate units of information (creatives) are only one of four winners in the modern economy. The other three are influencers (discussed in the next section), experts (the very top talent in a field), and financiers (those with access to capital, who have never not been economic winners).
*******One easy tip: Smile at people.
********This serves as an interesting example of the powerful effect of media. A woman had run the race the year before, but no photographers had captured it. Kathrine’s story riveted the world. Why? At least in part because somebody had been around to see it, photograph it compellingly, disseminate it. "Why me?" Kathrine might have asked at the moment the photograph was taken. If they were there, the Tralfamadorians would've responded: "Why you? Why anyone. We're trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why."