The real reason we spot patterns where there aren’t patterns is because the human sensory system is tuned by natural selection to err on the side of caution in borderline cases. Our ancestors who thought they saw a wolf in the shadows and took cover are the ones who survived to pass their genes on, because sometimes there really was a wolf there. Their peers whose senses lacked that safety margin got picked off.
That can't be a real reason the same way that any explanation "bolted on" as a coping mechanism for rationality can't be. It's equivalent to god of the gaps.
Comments
The real reason we spot patterns where there aren’t patterns is because the human sensory system is tuned by natural selection to err on the side of caution in borderline cases. Our ancestors who thought they saw a wolf in the shadows and took cover are the ones who survived to pass their genes on, because sometimes there really was a wolf there. Their peers whose senses lacked that safety margin got picked off.
That can't be a real reason the same way that any explanation "bolted on" as a coping mechanism for rationality can't be. It's equivalent to god of the gaps.