[extropy-chat] Failure of low-fat diet

[Keith Henson]

At 06:47 PM 2/21/2006 -0500, Robin Hanson wrote:

snip

>Every study has flaws one can point out.   The point is that people
>are quick to
>use the flaws to dismiss studies whose conclusions they don't like, and they
>hardly notice the flaws of the studies whole conclusions they do like.  That
>habit allows one to pretty much ignore the evidence in favor of preconceived
>expectations.

Just like:

"None of the circuits involved in conscious reasoning were particularly 
engaged," Westen said. "Essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the 
cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then 
they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative 
emotional states and activation of positive ones."

"Notably absent were any increases in activation of the dorsolateral 
prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain most associated with reasoning."

Now to raise this to a meta level, why do people get stuck on preconceived 
expectations?

Ground rules are: your explanation for this psychological trait has to have 
its origin in the stone age among hunter gather tribes *and* it has to have 
contributed to our ancestor's "reproductive success."    You may need to 
invoke Hamilton's inclusive fitness in your model to account for this trait.

I don't have more than a foggy idea of how to account for why people get 
stuck on preconceived expectations, but this is the formula for attacking 
the question.

Any ideas?

Keith henson