"Your Homunculus Is A Liar"

The person who lives inside your head may seem rational and honest, but who is fooling who? If you are fortunate there is only one voice and if you are sober the voice should be sensible. Or so we would like to think. Two recent studies suggest otherwise. As it turns out, our homunculi are unrealistic optimists and veritable liars. While this may sound calamitous, it isn’t. There are good evolutionary reasons for lying to ourselves and being cheerful about it. Read more