"If you come across a garter snake, nearly all of your brain will light up with activity as you process the “threat.” Yet if somebody tells you that carbon emissions will eventually destroy Earth as we know it, only the small part of the brain that focuses on the future — a portion of the prefrontal cortex — will glimmer"<p>Correct me if I am wrong here, but it's a darn good thing too. How horrible would it be if you got a flight or fight response every time a possible diffuse future threat was mention in passing by someone? I hardly think this example can be characterized as a flaw.
If any readers are interested in this sort of thing, then I highly (very, very highly) recommend the following links:<p><a href="http://www.overcomingbias.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.overcomingbias.com</a><p><a href="http://www.lesswrong.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.lesswrong.com</a>
Bypass registration and view the article directly here:<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/opinion/02kristof.html?_r=1" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/opinion/02kristof.html?_r=...</a>