introduction: the brain as a scientist

Rachel Feldman introduces a provocative idea from Daniel Young, an experimental psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist: the brain is not a passive recorder of reality but a scientist that builds models of the world. This predictive framework illuminates why our perceptions can mislead us even when we are confident in them. Young argues that perception arises from an interplay between incoming signals and the brain’s prior predictions, a two-way process that constantly refines our experience of reality.

"Your brain is like a scientist, building theories to interpret the world around us" - Dr Daniel Young, Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the Uncertainty Lab, Birkbeck University of London

how perception works: predictions, interpretation, and reality

Contrary to the common intuition that hearing or seeing is a simple transmission of sensory data, Young explains that perception involves predictions descending from higher brain levels to lower ones. These predictions provide context and interpretation, so what we perceive is a blend of signal and expectation. A classic demonstration of this is misheard song lyrics, where the brain’s predictions fill in ambiguous details with plausible words, producing a perception that may be surprisingly different from the actual sound.

"Perception isn't just incoming information, but a two-way traffic with predictions descending from higher levels that shape what we hear" - Dr Daniel Young

benefits and limitations: speed, context, and potential misperception

Young argues that predictive processing offers a major advantage: it speeds interpretation in real-time social interactions, such as conversations where turn-taking happens in fractions of a second. However, this same mechanism can lead us astray when our models are outdated or biased. The brain’s reliance on background theories means we rarely see the world exactly as it is; instead, we see a projection shaped by prior experience. This framework also provides a fresh lens on psychiatric phenomena, suggesting that some symptoms, including hallucinations, may reflect extreme but continuous variations in the brain’s predictive projection rather than a wholesale departure from reality.

"The brain’s predictions are the window through which you see the world, and if those predictions go wrong, you may perceive things that aren’t there" - Dr Daniel Young

future directions: changing minds, uncertainty, and practical takeaways

One of the most exciting avenues is how the brain determines when to update its models. If the world feels stable, the mind tends toward cognitive inertia; if the world is changing, flexibility increases. Some neurochemical systems, notably norepinephrine, may modulate this malleability, potentially shifting how easily a person sticks with old predictions or adopts new ones. In light of events like the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers are beginning to explore how external volatility translates into internal cognitive flexibility. Young discusses the provocative possibility that pharmacological tools could alter openness to new information, raising important questions about consent and personal choice. In the meantime, he emphasizes practical steps: cultivate diverse experiences and seek out change to broaden the brain’s predictive toolbox and avoid overfitting past experiences to present realities.

"There are neurochemical systems that regulate how flexible our beliefs are, and in the future we might be able to adjust openness to new ideas" - Dr Daniel Young

practical takeaways for everyday life

To guard against misinterpretations, Young recommends broadening one’s experiential basis to prevent over-reliance on familiar schemas. Exposure to diverse people and situations can train the brain to form more robust, flexible predictions. Embracing uncertainty and intentionally varying routines can help keep perception from calcifying into a fixed worldview. While such changes may be uncomfortable, they offer a path toward more accurate understanding of others and the surrounding world, aligning personal models with a more dynamic and complex reality.

"Diverse experiences help diversify the predictions your brain deploys and prevent overfitting past impressions to the present" - Dr Daniel Young