Your brain doesn’t see reality — it tries to predict it
On a rainy afternoon in Dublin in 2017, I was running late to see a movie. I was going to see Logan , the final chapter in Marvel’s Wolverine saga, and I arrived at the theater just as the movie was about to begin. It had been billed as a story about a reluctant hero who had nothing left to believe in. Vanity Fair had called it a “bracing, violent jolt … raw, true.” What would it look like if…
Your brain doesn't perceive reality as it truly is; instead, it strives to predict it. Most of us believe that our senses gather data, transmit it to the brain, and we react accordingly. However, extensive research indicates that this is not the case. Your brain is essentially a gambling addict that bets on reality, making predictions before encountering information and adjusting its expectations when faced with surprises.
Typically, these predictions prove accurate, but when they are incorrect, you might find yourself running into walls or missing key details. This phenomenon, known as the predictive processing theory, was demonstrated in a 1999 computer model developed by Rajesh Rao and Dana Ballard. The higher-order regions of the brain initially generate predictions about what you anticipate seeing, then transmit these predictions downward through the hierarchy.
Only when there is a discrepancy between the prediction and the actual sensory data—known as a "prediction error"—does the lower-level processing alert the higher levels, sending information back up. When the brain makes accurate predictions, there is no need to notice anything; however, when it errs, such as mistaking a wall for an aisle, the system becomes alert.
This internal process occurs frequently during problem-solving, social interactions, and decision-making. Ultimately, the brain makes the best possible predictions in uncertain circumstances, although we are often unaware of the guessing happening within. This ability to fill in gaps using past experiences and context enables us to interpret ambiguous messages and create coherent perceptions.
Written by urgent.news from Big Think's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
