Giddiest of ups to all who joined us for 
We had ourselves a threesome this week... 
At the top of the list was the innate ability for us humans to over complicate the simplest of things... all because of emotions. Yes, one of our greatest assets is also an incredible weakness if not kept on check.
What we find is that while we most certainly know better we insist on thinking "im/this is different, im/this is special" etc. this bias for our own perspective can often lead to poor outcomes in our interactions with others, it can also lead to loss and adverse effects on the psyche.
This weakness is also ripe for being hijacked by those with an agenda, be it a personal relationship or a business trying to sell you something, the key to getting you to do what they want you to do is finding a way to tap into this part of each of us.
Group dynamics can also play a role in 'reinforcing' learned traits as "normal"... but normal is just an agreed upon perspective in particular demographics, there can be immense disparities, not only between the groups but also within them, as we begin to focus on individuals and the parts of the whole.
However, what is created in these groups is a "self correcting system", we are told what is normal, acceptable, how to act and "be", and due to the emotional attachment we have to being "normal" and part of the group we shift our mindsets to conform to the social norms.
A fundamental understanding of this construct is "Social Identity Theory". make experiments can be found which investigate the phenomena , but none are so renowned for their lack of ethical design as the Stamford Prison Experiment and Robbers Cave Experiment.
Acknowledging these traits within, not only humanity, but also ourselves, is the first step in taking positive steps to apply interventions and make the change needed, to shift to a better way pf being and not being ruled by our emotions and those that find ways to tap into this weakness we all have.
If we no longer want to be fooled, hoodwinked and bamboozled then we must admit there is a problem in the first place, but the ego tends to be far to fragile to admit such faults in the self... "no one tells me what to do, im not conditioned"... but hey tell me what you do when you come to a red traffic light... ?
But tell me again that you are not conditioned :P
We cover this and much more in the weekly Coffee and Philosophy show, the recording of which can be found at Coffee and Philosophy Ep.71.
If these kinds of topics and discussion are of interest I strongly recommend checking the schedule for Coffee and Philosophy and joining us in the live chat on the P.A.L Discord, so you can interact with us as well as the audience and help guide the conversation.