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Author: [[Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson]] Full Title: The Elephant in the Brain Category: #books elephant in theroom, n. An important issue that people are reluctant to acknowledge or address; a social taboo. elephant in thebrain, n. An important but unacknowledged feature of how our minds work; an introspective taboo. (One astonishing study found that only 8 percent of patients about to undergo a dangerous heart surgery were willing to pay $50 to learn the different death rates for that very surgery at nearby hospitals.) people might have other motives for buying medicine—motives beyond simply getting healthy—and that these motives are largely unconscious. When a toddler stumbles and scrapes his knee, his mom bends down to give it a kiss. No actual healing takes place, and yet both parties appreciate the ritual. The toddler finds comfort in knowing his mom is there to help him, especially if something more serious were to happen. And the mother, for her part, is eager to show that she’s worthy of her son’s trust. This small, simple example shows how we might be programmed both to seek and give healthcare even when it isn’t medically useful. But the net result is that patients end up getting more medicine than they need strictly for their health. The conclusion is that medicine isn’t just about health—it’s also an exercise in conspicuous caring. What’s interesting is how people obfuscate all this social competition by dressing it up in clinical business jargon.

AI Summary

The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson presents wisdom from the contemplative traditions.

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