A human ancestor hears a rustle in the grass. Is it the wind or a lion? If he assumes it's the wind and the rustling turns out to be a lion, then he's not an ancestor anymore. Since early man had only a split second to make such decisions, we are descendants of ancestors whose "default position is to assume that all patterns are real; that is, assume that all rustles in the grass are dangerous predators and not the wind."
Ronald Bailey, at Reason, review of The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer
This is where belief comes from, evolutionarily. Which, I'm kind of okay with. I don't mind people believing, but as the Grand Master said about writing, it should be done in private, and wash your hands afterwards.
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