That feeling of certainty? It was a bit disconcerting to learn that despite my ability to reason, that feeling of certainty I may get about a subject or opinion is based more on my unconcious than fact per se.
“It is the interface between incoming sensory data
and a final perception, the anatomic crossroad where nature and nurture intersect. It is why your red is not my red, your idea of beauty isn’t mine, why eyewitnesses offer differing accounts of an accident or why we don’t all put our money on the same roulette number. The powerful feeling of knowing arises out of the hidden layer’s unconscious calculation of correctness, be it recognizing a face or believing an idea is right. The greater the likelihood of correctness, as determined by your unconscious, the stronger the sense of certainty. ”