I suppose we must all take for granted the ideas we've lived with that we perceive as knowledge. To me it is mind boggling to not see = as equivalence, but that is the way with understandings formed long ago.
Because of this however, when we got to learning about equations in school, I already had a more procedural idea of how things work. If I do 2 + 3, something gives me 5. This way of thinking was pretty good for algebraic problems but absolutely demolished my understanding of geometry.I only managed to get over it and understand equivalences in my third year of engineering school because I was doing terrible in the courses.
I'm pretty sure our way of thinking is extremely affected by our early lives and how our young brains optimized themselves to solve ever increasing challenges
Reincarnation means becoming flesh again. I am the flesh of my mother and father and all the living beings I've eaten. And my grandmother and grandfather, and all the species before homo sapiens, up until the first living being.
I don't have memory like "that day when I was chased by hyenas in Africa", but I have a type of memory encoded in my DNA. My fear of snakes, my disgust for bitter foods, the color of my skin, and much more. These come from my past lives.
If I have kids, I'll also reincarnate myself. But even if I don't, my body will feed other living beings, and the molecules that now constitute "me" will constitute someone else. Given billion of years, someday parts of me and you will roam the earth as some future being.
I always had a hard time accepting some religious ideas because they required so much magic thinking that my reaction was to discard them. My epiphany was realizing that many have a core of truth. It's all a matter of perspective.
For insights like this and more, check out the "Religion for the non-religious" post by waitbutwhy: https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/10/religion-for-the-nonreligious...