You've been hacked

(including this title, which is acting as a lure)

Ever feel like the world's playing tricks on your brain? Welcome to the club.

We're drowning in "alternative facts." People shout, "This is true!" Five minutes later, someone else shouts, "No, THIS is!" It's like everyone's trying to pull a magic trick on us. And to be honest, it's exhausting. So, we often just nod along with whatever our friends or favorite celebrities believe. Easier, right? But usually not the best strategy.

Want to see a fun brain trick? Here's one: "This sentence is a lie." Your brain just did a somersault, didn't it?

Or try this: Imagine three buckets of water. One's hot. One's cold. One's just right (like Goldilocks’ porridge). Stick one hand in hot, one in cold. Wait a bit. Now, both in the middle bucket. Feels weird, huh? One hand's screaming, "It's hot!" and the other's going, "Brrr!" But they're in the same water.

That's how easily our perceptions get messed with.

Turn on the news. How many times have you heard "It's scorching!" or "It's a nightmare storm!"? Feelings, not facts. If they said, "It's 60°F," that's a fact. But feelings get clicks, views, and reactions. Facts? Not so much.

So, what's a person to do? Is there a "truth" out there? Yep. But it takes some sleuthing.

David Deutsch talks about "good explanations." I find it’s a bit like being Sherlock Holmes, hunting for clues. You've got to look at things from all angles, question everything, and then find what makes sense from the different perspectives. Like the water trick—if you only had the cold bucket, you'd think the middle one's hot. But add in another perspective, and suddenly, it's not so clear.

Finding the truth? It's about getting as many perspectives as possible, and then finding the connective tissue. That's a "Good Explanation."