☀️ The certainity trap
Our brains weren't built for truth; they were built for survival.
If our ancestors spent too long wondering whether that rustling sound was a predator or just the wind, we wouldn't be here. Evolution rewarded quick assumptions and punished hesitation. Our brains learned to seek certainty, avoid uncertainty, and double down on what we already believe.
This is why we notice every article that confirms our political views and somehow miss the ones that challenge them. It's why we remember the friend who proved us right and forget the one who pointed out our blind spot. It's why that algorithm keeps showing us more of what we already like, and less of what might change our minds.
We call this confirmation bias, and it's not a bug in our thinking. It's a feature our brains developed to keep us alive. The problem is that the same mechanism that once protected us from predators now protects us from growth.
Moving forward, there’s no news that AI systems and social platforms aren't neutral. They learn our preferences, anticipate our clicks, and serve us a steady diet of everything we already agree with. This means that our bubbles aren't just comfortable anymore, but they're being quietly reinforced by systems designed to keep us engaged, not to challenge us.
This edition is about why our brains crave certainty, how technology is amplifying that tendency, and what we might be missing when we stop questioning what we think we know.
📖 3 Articles to Spark Your Curiosity
Echo Chamber
Your social circle, media diet, and online platforms create environments where your beliefs get repeated back to you. This piece breaks down the psychology of echo chambers and why they feel so safe, even when they're keeping you stuck.
→ Read on The Decision LabConfirmation Bias and Remembering Only What We Want
You don't just seek information that confirms your beliefs. You also selectively remember it. This article explores how memory itself becomes a tool for reinforcing what you already think, making it harder to change your mind even when presented with evidence.
→ Read on SubstackWhen AI Amplifies the Biases of Its Users
AI tools are trained on data reflecting human prejudices, and then they learn from your behavior and preferences. The result = systems that don't just mirror your biases but amplify them, creating feedback loops that make your bubble harder to escape.
→ Read on Harvard Business Review
🗞️ 3 Headlines Worth Exploring
Online Platforms Risk Becoming Ideological Echo Chambers That Undermine Meaningful Dialogue
Social platforms optimize for engagement, not truth. The consequence is ideological isolation, where opposing views aren't just rare, they're algorithmically filtered out.→ Read on The Conversation
AI Has a Bias Problem. Can We Build Something Smarter?
Berkeley researchers explore whether it's possible to create AI systems that reduce bias instead of amplifying it. The challenge: bias isn't just in the data, it's in the assumptions we build into the models themselves.
→ Read on Berkeley NewsAI Bias: What It Is and How to Avoid It
A breakdown of the different types of bias that creep into AI systems, from data bias to algorithmic bias to user interaction bias. Understanding the mechanisms is the first step toward recognizing when they're shaping your decisions.
→ Read on AIMultiple
☀️ 3 Actions to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Follow Someone You Disagree With
Pick one person whose views genuinely challenge yours and follow them for a week. Don't argue, don't debunk, just read. Notice how uncomfortable it feels to let their perspective sit in your feed without immediately dismissing it.Run a Tiny Experiment
Choose one belief you hold confidently and spend 20 minutes actively searching for credible sources that contradict it. Not to change your mind necessarily, but to test whether you've been filtering out opposing evidence.Question One "Always" or "Never" Statement
Notice when you use absolutes like "people always" or "this never works." Pick one and ask yourself: is that actually true, or have I just stopped looking for exceptions?
⚡ 6 Quick Resources
🧠 To check: What is Confirmation Bias?
A breakdown of how your brain favors information that supports your existing beliefs and ignores the rest.
→ Read on BBC Bitesize
📖 To read: Why "All" and "Every" Make You Wrong
Using absolute language doesn't just make you sound overconfident; it actively narrows your thinking by eliminating nuance.
→ Read on Substack
🎥 To watch: The Neuroscience of Creativity, Perception, and Confirmation Bias | Beau Lotto
Your brain evolved to avoid uncertainty because hesitation meant death. Creativity requires the exact opposite: questioning your assumptions.
→ Watch on Big Think
🎤 To listen: How Tiny Experiments Can Set You Free | Anne-Laure Le Cunff
When neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff was told she might die, her first instinct was to check her calendar.
→ Watch on TEDxNashville
💭 To think about: Google DeepMind CEO Is Surprised OpenAI Is Rushing Forward with Ads
The race to monetize AI is shaping how these systems will behave. When engagement and revenue become the priority, does objectivity stand a chance?
→ Read on TechCrunch
🧗 To keep in mind: Leaving Your Comfort Zone
Why it's hard to leave the comfort zone, when you should, and what actually happens when you do. Spoiler: your brain treats uncertainty like a threat, which is why growth always feels uncomfortable at first.
→ Read on Harvard Summer School
🎲 This week’s wonderfully random corner of the internet
🎮 More or Less
A simple guessing game where you're shown two things and have to guess which one is "more" based on different metrics. It's oddly addictive and quietly reveals how often your assumptions about the world are just wrong.
→ Play at morelessgame.com
📝 Word of the Week
Mumpsimus (English, 16th century) - A person who stubbornly clings to an error, habit, or prejudice, even after it's been shown to be wrong; refusing to accept correction.
The word comes from a story about a priest who mispronounced a Latin word in Mass as "mumpsimus" instead of "sumpsimus" for decades. When a colleague corrected him, the priest replied: "I will not change my old mumpsimus for your new sumpsimus."
We're all mumpsimus about something. We find a comfortable way of seeing the world, and when someone points out we've got it wrong, we defend our version. It doesn’t matter if it’s wrong - we’ve been repeating it for so long that changing feels like admitting we've been wrong all along.
🧘♀️ Question of the Week for Introspection
What's one belief you hold that you've never seriously questioned? Not because it's definitely true, but because everyone around you agrees with it and challenging it would be uncomfortable?
See you next Sunday! Until then, keep your eyes open, your questions big, and your sense of wonder alive.
Your curious internet friend,
Ruxandra
