"We swim in a sea of information, but filter out most of what we see and hear. A new analysis of data from dozens of studies sheds new light on how we choose what we do and do not hear"

....as proven over and over again right here on CM

Good clip

That's not really anything new. Psychologists have accepted it for years. Nor is it unique to humans. The apes have shown a remarkable ability to "ignore" what doesn't fit into their imprinted "reality tunnel".

what many don't know is that the brain's function is more that of a filter than an organ of perception. for example, if we percieved all the colors and sounds that existed, we'd be ovewhelmed. our brain allows us to function by filtering out myriad stimuli. this carries over, obviously, to social realms. of course, anything taken to an extreme and lacking flexibility becomes a problem, but speaking as someone who can more than typical see many sides of many issues, the more you see, the less you do...so as with everything, there's a sweetspot with this.

I think it has something to do with most people's need for certainty, and defined categorization. So rarely do I meet people that think the world is capable of more than they conceive, they do not believe in possibilities, but absolutes. This is not necessary, of course, as that'd just be falling into the same certainty trap.

The mind, like everything else in the world, is self-organizing to some extent. I don't doubt that synapses or whatever else in there can become complacent and lazy, not wanting to explore or be mobilized. The brain as organ of interpretation in accordance with its own arrangement, though shocks can always happen that scatter such stasis.

We're a mess, ain't we now.