Explicando a origem da fé

Me parece que este artigo explica o poder da fé e a eficácia dos livros de auto-ajuda.

the physics arXiv blog

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The Evolution of Overconfidence Posted: 23 Sep 2009 09:11 PM PDT If overconfidence leads to global disasters such as the collapse of banks and world wars, how could it have evolved? Now researchers have an answer What do the following high-profile disasters have in common: World War I, Vietnam, the war in Iraq, the collapse of the banking system and the lack of preparation for natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina? According to Dominic Johnson at the University of Edinburgh and his pal James Fowler at the University of California, San Diego, the answer is that they have all been blamed on the all-too-human condition of overconfidence.  The puzzle about overconfidence is its ubiquity. Many studies have shown that most people have an exaggerated sense of their own capabilities, an illusion of control over events and an invulnerability to risk. Most people, for example, believe they are above average drivers, a statistical impossibility. We are all overconfident in one way or another. But how can such a condition have evolved when the consequences of overconfidence can lead to the destruction of communities and the catastrophic loss of life? That's a mystery that many experimental psychologists have wrestled with but now Johnson and Fowler say they have the answer. By creating a mathematical model of the way overconfident individuals compete against ordinary individuals, they show that there is a clear advantage in overconfidence.  In fact, if the potential reward is at least twice as great as the cost of competing, then overconfidence is the best strategy. In fact, overconfidence is actually advantageous on average, because it boosts ambition, resolve, morale and persistence. In other words, overconfidence is the best way to maximise benefits over costs when risks are uncertain.  That's an interesting insight. Experimental psychologists have long known of the role of overconfidence in conflict situations and yet have been unable to explain its origin.  But it is Johnson and Fowler's predictions that are most worrying. Their model implies that optimal overconfidence increases with the magnitude of uncertainty. So the greater the risk, the more overconfident individuals should become. Johnson and Fowler use that finding to predict that overconfidence will be particularly prevalent in domains where the perceived value of a prize sufficiently exceeds the expected costs of competing.  What might these be? They highlight several domains but perhaps the most obvious and potentially dangerous are international relations, where events are complex, distant, involve foreign cultures and languages, new technologies such as the internet bubble and the banking industry where complex financial instruments abound. Any of that sound familiar?  All that sets the stage for the next question: how best to mitigate the worst side-effects of rampant overconfidence in a society that has a dramatically exaggerated sense of its own abilities Ref: arxiv.org/abs/0909.4043: The Evolution of Overconfidence