The Power of Lightly Held Beliefs

Humans believe a lot of strange things.  For example, I maintain the silly idea that sickness creeps into the body through the ears, and that wearing a hat can sometimes stop illness in its tracks. I also have some pretty unique ideas about the nature of human consciousness and the power of the placebo effect.  Many of my books start with a basis in science before pushing past what we can verify through experimentation and into more speculative terrain.

In this week's podcast on what I call "lightly-held beliefs" I examine how holding onto scientifically unsupported ideas is an important part of being a curious and engaged person. The key, however, is knowing the difference between science and belief--and organizing our more out-there ideas in a way that corresponds to verifiable evidence.

The podcast is available today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts. It will premier tomorrow on YouTube