Brain and Origin of Beliefs

When I make presentations on Bias, Bigotry, and Beliefs, someone invariably asks: Where do beliefs come from? Your brain is thought to have created your mind and your brain also creates your beliefs—from what you are taught and what you learn (which are often very different), cellular memory (a form of Epigenetics whereby memories of biological ancestors and their behaviors as far back as at least three or four generations are retained in your cells that have a nucleus. These subconscious memories may be filed on protein strands in the cell nucleus and may tend to push you toward specific behaviors although they don’t hold a gun to your head metaphorically to force you to embrace and exhibit the behavior(s). Your brain also creates beliefs based on the role-modeling of older siblings and of adults around you and within your environment; from the script you were metaphorically handed at birth, from what you watch on television and movies, and from your own life experiences and observations. More tomorrow.