I have a serious case of confirmation bias. I try to fight it but it's hard to know how well I succeed.
It's hard when the world is composed of entities who know this about me and use it against me. Facebook, Google/YouTube and the like have spent a gazillion dollars on focus groups, measuring things that give me tiny hits of dopamine, and adjust their algorithms accordingly. They want me surfing their crap 24/7. They're not inclined to show me things I disagree with. It could lead to the impression that I am sane, and "they" must all not be. A popular sentiment in online argument comments is something like "What world do you live in?!??!!" In fact, in the online world, studies show that people of naturally varying opinions, the more time they spend online, they effectively ARE living in an entirely different world.
Well....some ideas and people are insane. But not all of them.
Everyone has a problem with confirmation bias, myself included. You can get ahead of the curve if you a) recognize that confirmation bias is a thing and b) actively TRY to fight it. And it's still hard a f. But if you at least try, you'll be less affected than some.
Completely agree. I've said here for a long time while you've been away that
we now no longer all live in the same reality. People have been able, through dozens of media outlets, news sources, social media, etc to construct the reality around them that makes them feel good. They can construct their own little confirmation bias bubble, wrap it around them at night, and sleep soundly basking in their own superiority.
It's to the point that for many people, the only time that they interact with the "other side's" beliefs is
when their own side tells them what the other side believes. Yeah, I'm sure that is going to be a fair retelling.
So we grow to think that there's no way any reasonable person could believe what we've been told the other side believes, so they must be dumb, or evil, or insane. You get a much different picture, of course, reading what the other side says out of their own mouths (and based on the best communicators amongst them, not cherry-picking the most bombastic). Sometimes things actually sound almost, dare I say it, reasonable!