Human brains are constantly processing data to make statistical assessments that translate into the feeling we call confidence, according to a study published May 4, 2016 in Neuron. This feeling of confidence is central to decision making and, despite ample evidence of human fallibility, the subjective feeling relies on objective calculations. "The feeling ultimately relies on the same statistical computations a computer would make," says Adam Kepecs, professor of neuroscience at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and lead author of the study.