it's how our brains evolved to work - but we now have access to more information than ever and the optimum strategy is to go against our biological programming and actively seek out missing information instead of allowing the brain to fill it with assumptions.

i tried to explain this to a moron ( a mechanic ) and he just made up some BS excuse like " but what if you don't have access to information, and you have lost the skill of making BS assumptions ? "

clearly some people enjoy being dumb and can't be helped. 

 it takes effort to stop your brain when it starts assuming things and go to actively research.  it's the same kind of effort as is required to stop eating when you know you had enough even though you are still enjoying it.  this is why stupid, poor and fat people are usually the same demographic. 

 I think you are right, we have to actively fight our biological programming because we are in a novel information-heavy environment where better success can be had that way. 

 the specific example that made me realize this is whenever i would see a word i didn't know pronunciation of my brain would immediately start making assumptions about how it is pronounced and then eventually remember the pronunciation i made up as if i heard it somewhere ...

instead now when i detect my brain is doing this i stop it and go to google or youtube to find the real pronunciation and try to remember that instead ...