Who are you going to believe -- the group or your own eyes?  Answer (all too often): The Group. In the fascinating and wide-ranging discussion with Psychologist Steve Rathje, we take a hard look into:

• what reason is and why we developed it
• how our need for belonging drives our beliefs
• why we ignore inconvenient evidence
• whether it hurts worse to listen to the other side or get a root canal
• how even listening to conflicting evidence can threaten our identity
• why being smart can lead you deeper into error
• how Occam's razor can cut the wrong way
• how enemies can fulfill some of our deep needs
• what can be done to incentivize truth over tribalism

Steve is studying for his PhD in social psychology at Cambridge University, and is the author of the Words Matter Blog in Psychology Today (Words Matter Blog). Music: Icy Vindur by A Himitsu Art: Oz by Ian Armstrong

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-history-of-being-human--5806452/support.