[vhawk01]

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It is basically an effective way of handling information, and it fits with our perception of ourselves - intent before action.

Interestingly in psychology you can show in controlled settings and in observatory settings how action can influence opinion, and in many cases how memory can change - making you believe you had another intent than you did (last one is done by interviewing people directly after an action, and then interviewing them at a later time and noting the differences in their answers - an extremely fascinating subject).


So it isn't only limited to things we observe, it is also something we do in regard to ourselves. So it would seem it is some basic information handling process our brains does which is more effective and 'fit for survival' than an alternative.

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Right, its one of those things where false negatives VASTLY outweigh false positives in terms of risk and consequence, so the default is to almost always assign agency. Swearing at that stupid coffee table that jumped out at me for the third time this week makes me feel foolish afterwards, but blankly staring at that mountain lion bearing down on me is a bit more dire.