2005-03-09 13:37 | fche blog seriously a question of brain anatomy
Where oh where is that part of the brain that detects inconsistencies?
I am a rather argumentative type of person. That is, I’m eager to start an argument when I hear a proper trigger. The nature of a suitable trigger is special: hearing a claim that is internally inconsistent, illogically constructed, contradicting her earlier unretracted statement, or based on evidence that I or even the speaker knows are false. The trigger may fire even if there is no one to argue with, like coming across advertisements that lie, or news articles, or activists’ web sites.
This trigger is so powerful and consistent that there must be some unit of the brain dedicated to the reflex. It must be physiological in nature, since it automatically forms one’s lips in the shape of “... but”, and accompanies it with an offended anxiety. Note that this trigger doesn’t seem to fire simply for a material disagreement based merely on different facts or value judgements, but more for situations where the speaker herself ought to know better.
While this hypothetical unit is probably present in all people, it is strangely impotent in many of them. Many people simply accept the absurdities of daily life, the typical dishonesty of people trying to eke power over or money from you. Maybe they recognize them, but deem them inoffensive or insignificant. Maybe they judge it dangerous to actively resist. It seems like this non-response is quick and thorough enough that it too may have a dedicated brain area.
Or maybe this second organ is a more highly evolved defensive “keep-your-mouth-shut” mechanism that we perpetual critics somehow lack. Oops.