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A sweeping theory from cognitive and social sciences proposing that a fundamental driver of human invention, knowledge, and culture is apophenia—the innate tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things. It argues that this "pattern-connecting" impulse underpins not just superstition, but also science, law, and economics. The search for causal relationships, evidence, and grand unifying theories are all seen as refined, institutionalized forms of this same cognitive bias. In this view, humanity builds its entire epistemic house on the foundation of seeing links in the chaos.
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