The reading on mindbugs was very interesting to me. I was pulled in when the author was explaining how humans have ingrained habits of thought and how this is actually an evolutional triumph. The first example of a mindbug of the tables was fascinating because even when I was given the correct information that they were equal, tested the claim, saw that it was correct, I still could not see them as the same shape when I pulled the paper shape away!
One of the most interesting parts was when the author talks about Loftus’s study about retroactive interference, or, the misinformation effect. Small changes in the way we ask questions can lead to a change in what is remembered. The author dives into the effects of this on cases of wrongful conviction. This brought me back to a project I did as a freshman in one of my leadership classes where I read and presented on Just Mercy. I think about the retroactive interference mindbug combined with implicit bias based on race and it is mind-boggling how our unconscious thoughts can have such profoundly differing impacts on others. The Chapter “Shades of Truth” was also very interesting to me. The author talks about untruths and the real motivation behind them. Everyone tells these gray lies. I was always under the pretense that it was a social politeness thing, lie to not hurt others, to spare other’s feelings. But the author calls us on that and explains that the lies are motivated by the intention to spare one’s own feelings. I then realized I had a mindbug that was allowing me to habitually accept my actions and convince myself the motivations behind them were purer than they are! crazy
I also realized that I have my own bugs! I think “mindbugs”is a nice why of saying implicit biases and prejudices we all carry inside of us. The brain is expansively smart and intelligent but it is like a piece of technology that needs to be programmed and retrained. We have these evolutionary prejudices that are there to protect and save us from danger. These processes often can be outdated when they began to harm people and create unequal rights.
I feel this! I was raised to be polite to people, even if it meant telling “white lies”, but I realized at one point that doing that could sometimes come back to bite me in the ass. You really have to sit down sometimes and think about WHY you do the things you do and see if they stem from your own understanding, or if you unconsciously started doing them because that’s what’s accepted.
I really like your connect to “Just Mercy” because I was thinking a similar thing when reading this portion of the article. I was also struck by the second chapter Shades of Truth, but I did not feel convinced by it. I think that investigating our own subconscious motivations if very difficult. I agree that sometimes we are lying to protect our own feelings, but I do think there are instances where white lies are motivated by a desire to protect the feelings of others.