Alan Lightman was on the program. And if you've read his book, Searchy for Stars on Island and Maine, but he talks about having transcendent experiences also not a believer. Robert: I find it interesting that we are creatures who want to understand why we're here. The other creatures just go about their business.
Neurologist and author Robert Burton talks about his book, On Being Certain, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Burton explores our need for certainty and the challenge of being skeptical about what our brain tells us must be true. Where does what Burton calls "the feeling of knowing" come from? Why can memory lead us astray? Burton claims that our reaction to events emerges from competition among different parts of the brain operating below our level of awareness. The conversation includes a discussion of the experience of transcendence and the different ways humans come to that experience.