Your mind prefers language to math...

Your mind would prefer to solve problems with language as opposed to math...
A baseball bat and a ball cost $110 total
The bat costs $100 more than the ball
How much does the ball cost?
Do the math in your head...
Most people will answer...
The ball must cost $10
But that's wrong...
The bat would cost $105
And the ball would cost $5
If you also got $10 that's because you're a cognitive miser and your brain would prefer to solve problems with language as opposed to math.

I had you do that arithmetic problem to illustrate how easy it is to hack the mind and our perception of reality. Your mind is less persnickety about the details than you would like to think...