| > How it feels is incidental. From a loosely neuroscience perspective (I had quite a few courses but I'm not a professional or scientist in that field), no it isn't. What do you think "feelings" are? It "feels" very different when your brain finds out that it's current wiring may need major updates (work! literally, for the brain) compared to when it finds that the current wiring is good enough. All those light and strong "feelings" don't come from some nebulous ether. When are people really open to changing their ways? Two examples for a smoker: 1. You hear (again) that smoking is bad. Maybe you also get (yet again) a few scientific study pointers. You feel... nothing (bored?) 2. Somebody you love unexpectedly is diagnosed with lung cancer and since they always were chain smokers it really hits you deep. You feel really bad, and it's string bad. Which of the two experiences is more likely to lead somebody to really change their ways? That's two extremes, but all feelings are reflections of actual state of your hardware. The brain would prefer not to have to change, the point it got to (the here and now) was hard fought for already so any new, especially major changes need to prove that they are worth it. The new state will be unproven and uncertain, if it's a major adaptation it will take many iterations. |