Now, let's talk about Confirmation Bias — Page 440, Lesson 691

I want to walk you through several important terms that build on what we've been discussing about the optic nerve and how the brain processes vision. Let's start with the optic nerve itself — it carries signals from the eye to the brain, where the visual picture is actually built up. The eye captures light, but it's the brain that assembles that raw data into the image you perceive. Now, let's talk about Confirmation Bias. This is a decision-making trap. Once a person has made a decision, there's a natural tendency to stick with it. What happens is that the individual will take a small piece of information and use it to "confirm" the decision they've already made — even to the point of ignoring other, more compelling evidence that suggests the plan is flawed. As a pilot, this is dangerous because you might dismiss warning signs or contradictory data just because you've already committed to a course of action. Next, the Coriolis Effect — this is an illusion. It's a false sensation that the rate of turn has changed, triggered by a sudden movement of the head. If you're in a turn and you move your head quickly, your inner ear can send misleading signals to your brain, making you feel like the turn rate has altered. This can be disorienting in flight. Let's move to anatomy. The Cornea is a transparent focusing layer at the very front of the eyeball. It's the first structure light passes through, and it helps bend the light rays to focus them onto the retina. Coronary Thrombosis — you'll see it cross-referenced to "Heart Attack." We'll cover that in detail when we get to that entry. The Cortex is the part of the brain that receives impulses from the auditory nerve and translates them into sound patterns. So when your ears pick up sound, the auditory nerve sends electrical signals to the cortex, and that's where you actually perceive and understand what you're hearing. Cortisol, also called cortisone, is a substance released during the second phase of the General Adaptation Syndrome. Its job is to convert fats into sugar, which prolongs the body's mobilisation when it's facing a perceived stress or threat. So it's part of your long-term stress response, keeping energy available. Cyanosis is a visible sign — a blue colour that develops in parts of the body where the blood supply is close to the surface, like the lips or under the fingernails. It's caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood, which means there's a shortage of oxyhaemoglobin — that's the oxygen-carrying form of haemoglobin. Cyanosis is one of the key signs of hypoxia, which is oxygen deficiency in the body tissues. Finally, the Diaphragm is a muscular and tendinous sheet that separates the thorax, your chest cavity, from the abdomen. When you breathe in, the diaphragm moves downward, which reduces the pressure in the chest and draws air into the lungs. When you breathe out, the diaphragm relaxes and moves back up. So it's the primary muscle driving your breathing cycle.