Illusion of transparency

Biological Parallel

A courting peacock spider performs elaborate dances assuming females read his signals clearly—because ambiguous courtship means reproductive failure. Yet internal states remain opaque: animals can signal hunger, fear, or dominance, but the subjective intensity remains private. The illusion of transparency—our belief that internal emotions show clearly to others—stems from this asymmetry: evolution gave us vivid internal experience (to motivate action) but only crude external signals (facial expressions, body language), creating a systematic overestimation of what we're broadcasting.