The Benefit of Unconsciousness in Deception

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The origin of unconsciousness arises from capacity limitations where individuals can't be conscious of everything. Travers suggests that unconsciousness has a benefit in terms of deception. The strategy is to deceive oneself to avoid giving away intentions during confrontations or persuasion. By believing in a false reality temporarily, one can effectively deceive others.

In “Psych: The Story of the Human Mind,” Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, lays out, in his words, “basically everything I know about the mind.” And when he says “everything,” he means it. Where does consciousness come from? Does IQ matter? What makes us happy? Was Sigmund Freud a madman? The answers to these questions (and more) are all in Paul’s book — and in this episode.

An edited version of Rufus’s interview with Paul first aired in April 2023. Today, we’re bringing you their entire conversation.

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