Dharmapunx NYC When Our Models of the World Are Outdated And Need Updating
Oct 1, 2025
Explore how our brains act as predictive machines, shaping perceptions before sensory input. Discover how childhood predictions linger into adulthood, often causing anxiety and reduced social connections. Learn about the importance of updating these outdated mental models through therapy and gradual exposure. Embrace self-soothing practices like breathwork to retrain responses. The episode also features a guided meditation aimed at visualizing healthier social interactions and fostering emotional safety.
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Brain As A Prediction Machine
- Josh Korda explains that the brain is a prediction machine that constructs models before sensory input arrives.
- These predictions make perception possible and efficient by filling gaps and reducing metabolic cost.
Missing A New Carpet
- Josh Korda recounts missing a therapist's carpet change until months later as an example of change blindness.
- The story illustrates how predictions filter out mundane changes from awareness.
Survival Favors Fast, Not Accurate, Perception
- Predictions speed responses and favor survival over perfect accuracy, explaining common misperceptions like mistaking sticks for snakes.
- Donald Hoffman's work suggests species that perceived perfectly would be at an evolutionary disadvantage.