Whenever I see discussions like this on cognitive biases I like to try and think about how it looks from the other “side”, looking back at people whose beliefs I share and how we arrived at them. For example, anti-vaxers have been mentioned here because they’re clearly crazy and bull-headed and we can all laugh at them ha ha, but from their point of view, people who believe vaccines are safe are going through the exact same process of seeking out information that confirms their existing beliefs and leaving it at that, and then digging in their heels when confronted with anti-vax propaganda (or “The Truth”, as they would have it). And let’s face it, a lot of them probably are, because people are lazy, or conformist, or don’t have time, and are, well, not so smart, like the title of the podcast suggests. The mechanisms of a cognitive bias can lead you to, or keep you holding, a correct belief just as easily as an incorrect one.
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