Weaknesses of our brain
This article is part of the Basic Course on Libertarianism and the Austrian School of Economics-> Module 1: Required foundational topics
Weaknesses of our brain
Our brain is not one, but 3 distinct brains competing to impose their response at the same time. I repeat,
- Our brain is not one, but 3 distinct brains competing to impose their response at the same time.
On top of this another point is added, referring to the amount of information that is processed: it is so much that internally our brain seeks shortcuts (filters) to interpret reality; these shortcuts are called cognitive biases, which we will also discuss.
Summarizing the 3 brains
These 3 brains are the fruit of evolution itself, working independently.
- The more primitive and ancient the brain, the more instinctive, emotion-based, and faster it is.
- The more evolved the brain, the more reasoning it is and the longer it takes to determine a response.
In broad terms, here they are:
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Reptilian brain (limbic system)
- The most primitive brain; it takes between 0 and 3 seconds to determine an emotional/instinctive response of fear, anger, or sexual predisposition to a situation.
- In its fear variants, it responds with the following emotions:
- fear: flee the situation in the safest way possible
- panic: stay still in the face of the threat
- terror: flee desperately from the threatening situation.
- In its anger variants, it simply attacks the threat
- Sexual predisposition is simply that: knowing whether the subject is sexually disposed.
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Mammalian brain
- It is the evolution over the previous brain, which takes between 3 and 6 seconds to determine an emotional/instinctive response to a situation.
- This brain gives us 2 main emotions: love in all its variants and rejection and hatred in all its variants.
- This is the brain that, for example, allows us to feel love for our children, relatives, etc. And also rejection, repulsion, and hatred toward other beings.
- This evolution is related to the fact that mammals keep their eggs inside themselves, to care for them and have an evolutionary advantage over reptiles that do not.
- Reptiles or beings that lack this brain have a very limited capacity for these feelings or instincts (love / hatred). It is likely that a reptile would eat its offspring if it found them some time after birth, something that would not be possible in a mammal.
- It generally takes 5 seconds to know whether we like a person; this brain participates in that response.
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Neocortex
- It is the evolution that differentiates us from all other animals on the planet, that turns us into reasoning and conscious beings.
- Unlike the other brains, this one returns a reasoned response to a situation (not a feeling/instinct). It takes between 6 seconds and an entire lifetime to determine a response.
What is the reason they act this way?
The speed and way the first 2 brains respond have their reason for being in the fact that thousands of years ago in the middle of the jungle or forest, quick responses allow survival.
If, hypothetically, an attacker approaches us, and the first brain that responds is the neocortex and we decide to start a dialogue, it is very likely that we will be killed, we will not reproduce, and thus our genes will not be perpetuated.
By contrast, if in the same situation we respond in less than 3 seconds and run away, there are good chances of surviving and being able to perpetuate our genes.
However, in the society we live in today, having those instinctive reactions (anger or fear) in a work meeting will get us fired; if we attack anyone who looks at us the wrong way we will end up in prison and thus have fewer opportunities to perpetuate our genes.
In this sense our 2 instinctive brains are very good at allowing us to survive in the jungle, but they are not so good at allowing us to live in our current society.
Summarizing cognitive biases
Cognitive biases are mental shortcuts (filters) or patterns of thought that our brain uses to process information quickly, trying to simplify a complex world, but that often lead to incorrect or distorted judgments.
These biases are influenced by emotions, prior experiences, social contexts, cognitive limitations, etc.
List of the most common cognitive biases
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Confirmation bias:
- We tend to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms our prior beliefs, ignoring or dismissing what contradicts them.
- Example: You only read news that supports your political opinion.
- We tend to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms our prior beliefs, ignoring or dismissing what contradicts them.
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Anchoring bias (first impression):
- We give too much importance to the first information we receive (the “anchor”) when making decisions.
- Example 1: If you see a product with a high initial price, a later discount will seem like a great deal, even if it is not.
- Example 2: If someone accuses another person of a crime, it is very hard to remove that image even when contrary evidence is presented.
- We give too much importance to the first information we receive (the “anchor”) when making decisions.
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In-group bias (us vs. them):
- We favor members of our group (by race, nationality, ideology, etc.) and distrust or discriminate against those outside it.
- Example: Feeling that your sports team is superior to others without objective evidence.
- We favor members of our group (by race, nationality, ideology, etc.) and distrust or discriminate against those outside it.
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Dunning-Kruger effect:
- People with less knowledge of a topic tend to overestimate their competence, while experts may underestimate themselves.
- Example: Someone with little experience in economics believes they understand the market perfectly.
- Note: Professionals stake their prestige on the opinions they give, which often makes them reluctant to answer complex questions. Someone who has nothing at stake does not have that problem.
- People with less knowledge of a topic tend to overestimate their competence, while experts may underestimate themselves.
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Negativity bias:
- We pay more attention to negative information than to positive.
- Example 1: Remembering a criticism more than a compliment.
- Example 2: Bad events are remembered more easily than good ones.
- We pay more attention to negative information than to positive.
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Conformity bias:
- It is a psychological tendency in which a person adapts their opinions, beliefs, or behaviors to align with those of a group or the majority, even when they know or suspect that those views are incorrect or poorly grounded.
- This phenomenon occurs due to social pressure or the desire to be accepted, avoid conflict, or fit into an environment
- It is a psychological tendency in which a person adapts their opinions, beliefs, or behaviors to align with those of a group or the majority, even when they know or suspect that those views are incorrect or poorly grounded.
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Cognitive dissonance:
- When someone defends a failed idea to avoid the discomfort of admitting a mistake.
There are many more cognitive biases that we do not detail here.
Where is the weakness, then?
The weakness lies in 2 points:
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In the fact that the faster emotional/instinctive brains tend to IMPOSE and COMPETE for their responses, not giving our neocortex (slower and more reasoning) room to react.
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If we add cognitive biases to this, our reasoning becomes even more complicated
These weaknesses are especially used by people who want to manipulate others, in the following ways:
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always steering the conversation toward the emotional or instinctive side, generating fear, repulsion, or anger.
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Ex:
- What does that person make you feel?
- What do you feel when you hear such-and-such news?
- This situation scares me a lot, etc.
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When the questions could have been formulated like this:
- What is the cause of that person behaving that way?
- What are the causes of these events happening?
- Is the situation really dangerous? If it is, let’s find a solution; if not, let’s discard it.
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forcing a quick response from the person, thus not allowing them to reason correctly.
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using every cognitive bias they can
When a person is less used to reasoning, the more instinctive they are; this makes them predisposed to believe that instinct and feelings are rational responses.
As a person gets used to reasoning —whether by going to school (primary, secondary, tertiary, university), by having lived through bad experiences from being carried away by their emotions, or by jobs with a certain difficulty— they get used to downplaying the instinctive/emotional response and giving more room to reason.
This makes people with less education easier targets for manipulators, hatred and fear being among the easiest emotions to generate.
A wise person always knows they must not trust their first impressions, but rather give time for better analysis.
- A person who wants to explain a truth always speaks to reason, allowing the time necessary for each person to make a correct analysis of a situation.
On this site we will always speak to your reason.
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Last updated: 2025-10-29
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