Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
In this clip, Shamil is demonstrating how what our brain expects to see can override what we are actually seeing, even when we know that our perception is wrong.
For the full course: https://dandelion.events/e/m9nea
In this clip, Shamil explains how your brain decides how to interpret data based partly on how likely it is.
But you don’t experience the data that comes into your head, nor do you experience what you expect to see, but rather, a simulation that takes both into account.
He explains how whether your experience is more influenced by your expectations,, or whether it is more influenced by the data arriving through perception depends on how precise these are - how reliable they seem to be.
He uses the example of seeing an animal which could be a dog or polar bear. If we are walking through London, it would be surprising to see a polar bear, so all things being equal, we’ll experience the incoming data as a dog.
In fact, even if it looked quite a bit more like a polar bear, that data would be penalised as being too surprising in the context of walking through london, so the brain will still interpret the data as being a dog, and that is what you will see.
This will also depend on how precise the data coming in - in other words, how trustworthy or reliable it is. Did we just catch a brief glimpse in the fog? Or did we get a long hard look in clear daylight?
This four-week course offers a comprehensive science-informed guide to navigate the many styles of meditation, spiritual practise and philosophy aimed at liberation & human flourishing.
Blending lectures with guided meditations, the course introduces the latest neuroscience on how our minds construct reality — and how this understanding can be used to systematically reshape your brain’s predictive processes, reduce suffering, and open towards multidimensional human flourishing.
Shamil Chandaria, PhD, is a meditation researcher and thought leader in consciousness studies with academic ties to Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial College London.
Future events, newsletter and ad-free recordings::
adventuresinawareness.com
Your contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:
- adventuresinawareness.com/membership
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Follow the Adventure:
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Banner art by instagram.com/jadewade
In this clip, Shamil is demonstrating how what our brain expects to see can override what we are actually seeing, even when we know that our perception is wrong.
For the full course: https://dandelion.events/e/m9nea
In this clip, Shamil explains how your brain decides how to interpret data based partly on how likely it is.
But you don’t experience the data that comes into your head, nor do you experience what you expect to see, but rather, a simulation that takes both into account.
He explains how whether your experience is more influenced by your expectations,, or whether it is more influenced by the data arriving through perception depends on how precise these are - how reliable they seem to be.
He uses the example of seeing an animal which could be a dog or polar bear. If we are walking through London, it would be surprising to see a polar bear, so all things being equal, we’ll experience the incoming data as a dog.
In fact, even if it looked quite a bit more like a polar bear, that data would be penalised as being too surprising in the context of walking through london, so the brain will still interpret the data as being a dog, and that is what you will see.
This will also depend on how precise the data coming in - in other words, how trustworthy or reliable it is. Did we just catch a brief glimpse in the fog? Or did we get a long hard look in clear daylight?
This four-week course offers a comprehensive science-informed guide to navigate the many styles of meditation, spiritual practise and philosophy aimed at liberation & human flourishing.
Blending lectures with guided meditations, the course introduces the latest neuroscience on how our minds construct reality — and how this understanding can be used to systematically reshape your brain’s predictive processes, reduce suffering, and open towards multidimensional human flourishing.
Shamil Chandaria, PhD, is a meditation researcher and thought leader in consciousness studies with academic ties to Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial College London.
Future events, newsletter and ad-free recordings::
adventuresinawareness.com
Your contributions support future content, and are greatly appreciated:
- adventuresinawareness.com/membership
- One-off PayPal donations: paypal.com/paypalme/adventuresin
Follow the Adventure:
- Subscribe to us on youtube: youtube.com/@adventuresinawareness
- Twitter: https://x.com/AdvInAwareness
- iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adventures-in-awareness/id1535917754
- Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2jiebSpdVu9YbpLOtWlKYU
- Facebook: facebook.com/adventuresinawareness
Banner art by instagram.com/jadewade
