“I want to believe, and you do too. in fact, I think my thesis here is that belief is the natural state of things”. This important observation formed the foundation of Michael Shermer’s talk,The Pattern Behind Self-Deception, presented at TED back in February and made available for viewing earlier this week. He takes on the pitfalls of the human “belief engines” that are found in our pattern-seeking brains with a nice review of some of the relevant research. Shermer, the publisher of Skeptic Magazine, was appearing at TED for the second time. He also spoke there in 2006. TED, which has become a showcase for some of the world’s most respected thinkers, has had its share of skeptics including James Randi, Julia Sweeney, Richard Dawkins, Adam Savage, and Dan Dennett, among others.