mental gymnastics

The brain is an active problem solving device. It works by creating models of the world and running internal simulations. Non-technical folks often call these "what if" scenarios. But simulation is not limited to such explicit exercises. It is a continuous and ever present condition. If you doubt the reality of this statement, consider the everyday act of telling jokes. When listening to a joke, the audience immediately starts simulating the situation being depicted. To get the joke one not only has to follow along, but is imperative that one jumps ahead and simulates- "imagines"- potential outcomes. Because the punch line of the joke is achieved by suddenly switching direction leading to an unexpected and "funny" outcome. In some cases the same can be achieved by relying on double entendres or other language tricks that lead to incorrect models that collapse, thereby creating a funny situation.

Because the brain is constantly active while the subject is alive, it will go ahead and create problems to solve when none exist. If you carefully observe human behavior you will notice that much time is spent creating problems that can later be solved. This is not just limited to story telling, sudoku, and cross word puzzles. Humans actively create problems for themselves that they then try to solve. Politicians often achieve great status by first creating problems and then attempting to solve them. In some cases the problem may take the form of another human or super human entity.

The process is well illustrated in the Italian movie Desert of the Tartars. In it, a group of soldiers are despatched to a remote outpost at the edge of the desert. Faced with nothing to do, no enemies, no threats, and no possibility of threats, the soldiers quickly go on to create a formidable and evasive enemy.

To do so they rely on another innate ability. The ability to fill out incomplete information. This too is a characteristic of brains and a very useful one that confers great survival benefits. It too is exploited in entertainment, most often in suspense and horror movies. Here we see transient blurry images or hear vague sounds that are incomplete, meaning it is hard to identify the source. However, given the context we quickly interpret these images and see or hear dangerous animals, killers, aliens, or other monsters.

All of it is driven along by our tendency to link events together even if no such link exists in the outside world. It is called spurious associations and humans are experts at this. Much of the work in science is to debunk these misleading connections. It is to take a step back and double check our internal simulations with reality. Reality-checks are grossly underutilized and as a result of this tendency, we spend much of our time solving non-existing problems. But let's go back to the story.

We associate the sounds and the images and complete a picture of the threat. And once that process is finalized we endow the threat with human characteristics, i.e. we start perceiving it as a person or a human-like entity. The entity then has to be humored, appeased, destroyed, or otherwise controlled. To do so, we often perform actions that have little or no consequence. But we insist on rigidly adhering to these lest the world order be upset and dire repercussions ensue.

And so the soldiers, having created an invisible enemy based on vague sightings of dust flying around, and spurious night time sounds, now have a goal in life. They start preparing and training to face their enemy. They conduct raids to find and confront the enemy. And any spurious scrap or mark they see on these raids only serves to reinforce the idea of an enemy that is elusive, but ready to attack.

A somewhat similar tack is followed in Picnic at Hanging Rock and in the more recent movie, The Blair Witch Project.

Because humans are social animals, these types of misinterpretations quickly create a following. Especially when the person who is the source of the misunderstanding is a good story teller or an otherwise charismatic individual. Often the followers need even less evidence to become believers. Many are eager to find additional "proof" to shed their newcomer status and become insiders. They will quickly copy the rituals needed to control "the entity." Social acceptance and peer pressure play an important role here. Once a critical mass is reached, those individuals who question the beliefs will be excluded from group benefits and ostracized. They may be physically expelled from the community in some situations.

It will now become dangerous to challenge the basic premises. Anyone trying to go against the current will nudged into the right direction. If that should fail, sanctions will become increasingly harsh and violent. Humans will not shy away from killing those who threaten their world view. Or deny them access to vital supplies. Or attempt to eradicate them altogether. These tendencies will be greatly exaggerated when resources are limited or ecological disaster is near.