Making Sense with Sam Harris #320 — Constructing Self and World
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May 22, 2023 Shamil Chandaria, a philanthropist and expert in computational neuroscience, joins Sam Harris to explore how our brains construct the self and reality. They delve into Bayesian inference and predictive processing, discussing how these concepts shape our understanding of perception. The conversation highlights the interplay between psychedelics and meditation, their effects on neuroplasticity, and insights on human flourishing. They also touch on love, gratitude, and the philosophical idea of non-duality, making for a thought-provoking exchange on consciousness.
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Brain's Constructed Reality
- The brain constructs our perception of reality.
- It uses noisy sensory data to create an internal simulation, not a direct reflection of the external world.
Bayesian Brain
- The brain uses Bayesian inference to determine the causes of sensory data.
- It combines prior knowledge with incoming data to create a probabilistic model of the world.
Bayesian Inference and Ambiguity
- Bayesian inference helps the brain interpret ambiguous data.
- Prior probabilities influence perception, especially when sensory data is unclear.