[deltasevennine]

>And thinking->problem solving->success is a plausible path to get there

Sure, if this is what he means, then he is correct. But what he wrote is just "thinking" which is false.

>which is why I disagree with your statement that they are lying to themselves, ignoring the existential truth that we are always lying to ourselves.

It is a bit. The success of problem solving usually comes with only a mild dopamine hit. There are way more situations that create a greater surge of dopamine. Parent stated "thinking" was the most pleasurable thing ever which obviously not the case for people in general.

For example it's much more pleasurable to win a billion dollars or successfully bed the hottest girl in the club or to dominate everyone else in some competition. Clearly our biology is geared towards giving huge rushes of dopamine for situations that aren't exactly tied to "thinking" or strictly "problem solving". I find it hard to believe that the parent is completely unaware of this. He must know on some level. That's why I claim he's lying to himself.