How does the the human brain miss the second ‘the’?

In case your human brain missed the second ‘the’ in the title, you are in fine company. And what’s more, this is a perfectly normal human trait. In fact, we need this trait to function properly in our day to day lives. I first came across this phenomenon when I notiecd myeslf maikng sensse of words even when there were spelling mistkaes (in case you missed the pun, read the sentence again in reverse). This made me curious, and I started researching the phenomenon. While I’m at it, I might as well share my learnings with you so far.

This essay is supported by Generatebg

The World is Made of Information

If you think about it, everything around us is just information. Regardless of how things exist objectively, it is our perception of them that matters to us. And it is not just about perception. We have five senses that help us navigate the world: sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. To this end, we have five sensors in our body that enable us to do this: eyes, nose, years, tongue, and skin. We convert the world around us into information that can be processed by one or more of these sensors. But what do these sensors have to do with why you missed the second ‘the’? Before we can answer that question, there are a couple of important points we need to cover.

The Word is Made of Too Much Information

Although, we convert the world around us into sensible information, we do not process EVERYTHING around us. Our brains process just enough information sufficient for us to get by without issues. For instance, when you are waiting for a pedestrian traffic signal to cross the road, you are likely to focus only on your immediate surroundings. You are not necessarily interested in the truck that is driving by slowly on the bridge to your right. Similarly, consider a situation where you are talking to your friend over phone in the living room. Your mom suddenly increases the television volume, and you are disturbed by this. You tell your friend to hold on for a moment, cover the microphone with your hand, and yell:

“Mooooooom!! Could you please turn the TV volume down?”

The reason you do this is that your sense of hearing is overwhelmed at that moment. You cannot focus on your friend’s voice when there is a loud television also running in the background. The key takeaway for us here is that all of our senses put together are limited by the amount of information they can process at any given time. As a result, our brain filters information that is most relevant for us to make decisions most efficiently on a day-to-day basis.

The Human Brain is Good at Pattern Recognition

In a world overflowing with information, the human brain filters information by two strategies: ignoring and chunking. When both these strategies are combined, pattern recognition results. The human brain continuously seeks out patterns. If you think about it, this quirk enabled our forefathers to successfully survive difficult situations. One needed to quickly pattern-match current scenarios with with past experiences and recognize dangerous situations. If not, one likely did not survive. The opposite function happens for positive experiences. Whether it be evaluating edible berries or poisonous mushrooms or fear of heights, pattern recognition is at play via genetic evolution.

Human beings have become so evolved as a species, that we are obsessed with pattern recognition in the form of art or music. We are excited by art or music that is deceptive, i.e., when art appears to convey one meaning but has a hidden meaning instead. Now that we have established the significance of pattern recognition and information processing in our day-to-day lives, it is finally time to answer our question.

Why Did You Miss the second ‘the’?

The reason that you missed the second ‘the’ is that you were not reading each word. Anyone fluent in the English language is likely to skip the second ‘the’. Your brain picks up patterns in texts as you glance across the text. This is what enables you to read faster. If you come across words or sentence structures that you have seen in the past, the brain automatically processes them for you in autopilot mode. Due to this quirk, you can focus on words and phrases that are new and carry useful information for you.

What’s even more interesting about this phenomenon is that it is not only restricted to reading, but all our senses. It is silently hidden throughout your day-to-day life. Have you ever blanked out while driving? Your thoughts were on grocery shopping, yet, you drove perfectly safely and made it home without issues. Have you zoned out during cooking or chopping vegetables or washing the dishes? Your thoughts were trying to solve the most important challenges of your life. Yet, you did not burn yourself or cut yourself when you were cooking or chopping vegetables.

In all these cases, it is the same phenomenon at play. It is an evolutionary quirk of ours that enables us to lead efficient and normal lives on a day-to-day basis. So, if you missed the second ‘the’, you are probably doing just fine.

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Further reading that might interest you: Why Do Certain Songs Make You Feel Emotional? and Why Do You Feel Odd When You Oversleep?