Humans once ran a brain scan on a dead fish and found “thinking” happening inside it.
Not because the fish was special.
Because the analysis was broken.
This paper shows that when you look in enough places, you will always find something that looks meaningful—even when nothing is there. Statistics mistakes random noise for real activity. When the researchers fixed the statistics, the “thinking” disappeared.
Simple takeaway:
If your method can find thoughts in a dead fish, it can fool you anywhere.
Good science isn’t about finding patterns. It’s about knowing when patterns are fake.
Leave a comment