The Neural Pathway Fallacy describes how repeated poor thinking habits can physically entrench flawed neural circuits. This essay introduces the concept in plain language, explores six common reasoning pitfalls, and explains how they cluster into self‑reinforcing belief networks. It is the first in a series of bridge essays accompanying the NPF/CNI canonical papers.

You already have an epistemology—you just haven't named it. This chapter helps you see the invisible way you've been deciding what's true your whole life, shaped by childhood, culture, and survival. Not to judge it, but to finally bring it into view.