On Being Certain

A neurologist’s case that the feeling of knowing is a sensation produced by the brain independently of whether the belief is true — closer to hunger than to reasoning.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the “how the world really works” thread. If certainty is a feeling rather than a verdict, most arguments are about something other than what they appear to be about.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @SpencrGreenberg asking “What non-fiction book taught you the most about how the world (or how humanity or society) really works?” (June 5, 2025). The full recovered list lives on A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet).

Kyle’s line read “On Certainty by Robert Burton”. Wittgenstein wrote On Certainty; Robert A. Burton wrote On Being Certain, which is the book the attribution points to.

Connections

• A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Epistemology — the stake.
• Behavioral Economics — the neighbouring literature.