The Gray Area with Sean Illing Your mind needs chaos
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Oct 9, 2024 
Mark Miller, a philosopher of neuroscience and research fellow, dives into the fascinating workings of our minds. He describes the brain as a predictive engine that shapes our experiences and connects this to depression and opioid use. Miller discusses how encountering chaos, like in horror films, can enhance our creativity and adaptability. Art creation is highlighted as a path to self-discovery, while the impact of social media on mental health reveals the need for creativity and meditation to combat anxiety. Embracing uncertainty, he argues, might be the key to happiness.
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Predictive Processing
- The brain actively predicts the world, rather than passively processing sensory input.
- Our perception is a "controlled hallucination," shaped by top-down predictions.
Predictive Happiness
- Happiness isn't just pleasure; it involves accurate, flexible world models.
- Psychopathologies like depression arise from "sticky" bad beliefs that resist updates.
Depression Study
- Depressed individuals, reporting constant depression, experienced positive or neutral states.
- Their negative model filtered out contradictory experiences.