Inconsistency the Real Hobgoblin

"The problem with flip-floppers is that they are, by definition, inconsistent. They're unpredictable."

"And our brains don't like that, says David Linden, a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins."

"To understand why, Linden says, it helps to consider how the brain looks for consistency and predictability in even a mundane event like reaching for a cup of coffee."

"Long before your hand reaches the cup, your brain starts making predictions about everything from how much force will be required to lift the cup to how the coffee will taste."

"Once the brain makes its predictions, it starts to "use sensory information as it comes in to compare the prediction with what actually took place,' Linden says."

"You grasp. You smell. You taste."