Many of the misconceptions you unknowingly cling to don’t do you any real harm. Your mistaken belief that the Great Wall of China is visible from space won’t jeopardize your professional success, let alone your survival.
Nonetheless, we all hold more false beliefs than we realize, thanks to what one brain scientist, writing last year for Fast Company, called “a powerful shortcut that our brains use every day,” known to researchers as “processing fluency.” What that means, in short, is that our minds are more receptive to information that’s easier to process.
