The confirmation bias is at epidemic levels
How many times have we listened to politicians make
such ridiculous comments even the village idiot wouldn’t believe?
At first thought, we are convinced those believers are
somewhere beyond stupid. Although some simply understand they are listening to lies
and go along with them, many truly believe the lie or conspirator theory du jour. The reality is
those who believe those crazy things are not stupid. They are very intelligent
people. However, they are victims of a disease sweeping the country. They are
victims of the confirmation bias
According to Science Daily “Confirmation bias is a
phenomenon wherein decision makers have been shown to actively seek out and
assign more weight to evidence that confirms their hypothesis or ignore or
under weigh evidence that could disconfirm that hypothesis”. This is
understandable to a degree, but when this President is said to have lied or
deceived over 20,000 times and when his echo chamber tops that number, one
would think that more people would catch on. But yet the deception continues while
we continue to shake our heads in disbelief.
Why does this “bias” have so much power? This bias is not
only strengthened by the comfort it gives but by those who surround the
believer. When a lie comes down, no matter how ridiculous, as long as it is
supported by their favorite cable news network, by the select friends they talk
too combined with their effort to ignore a variety of news sources, they will
continue to believe.
This lends the question, where does this begin and how
can it be changed? Looking back in history,
the conning of the American people by politicians has gone on for decades if
not centuries. What are the solutions? One belief holds that if we didn’t
expect politicians to be perfectly aligned to our thoughts, they wouldn’t have
to lie. No politician can ever be in agreement with all citizens and no citizen
should expect perfection. All citizens should be encouraged to rise above the
confirmation bias and embrace critical thinking, choosing the issues that are
closest to them while developing a willingness to compromise on others.
The problem, however, goes much deeper. In school, children
are taught to respond to a standardized test and give the answers the test
wants. Even worse, students must respond to the textbook and the chapter test simply
regurgitating the answers they were given. As schools shift more to the “teach
to the test” mentality, they move away from those projects that encourage
children to think, analyze and come up with their own answers and then debate
them with others.
According to Dr. Angela Dye: “when achievement is restricted to grades, (test
scores) attendance, and behavioral compliance, the robust nature of learning is
inadvertently restricted… traditional school outcomes as level B achievement
can occur in the absence of learning how to work and learn independently; (A
level learning includes) learning how to synthesize, transfer and apply
knowledge to the world beyond the classroom; learning how to value self as
subjects and not as objects; and learning how to engage in and share power in
democratic spaces.”
A shift in the fundamental system and philosophy of
education would not only have a strong effect on the students but could easily
trickle up to adults. When they talk
politics at home, the child could easily pass on what they are doing in school.
Maybe it is time for the children to teach the adults. Children, when at home,
show your family you can think beyond the confirmation bias. Show them what it looks like.
The point is DON’T BELIEVE ANYTHING! QUESTION
EVERYTHING!
Remember, everyone has a confirmation bias. I work hard to rise above mine. You must work hard to rise above yours. If not now, when? Isn't this the perfect time to rise above the confirmation bias? Who would believe that a "scientist", Judy Mikovits, discovered a deadly virus transmitted through vaccines and was thrown in jail for 5 years without charges because she talked about it? If you do your homework, she did not discover any deadly virus and spent a short time in prison for stealing equipment from the company that fired her. Don't believe anything!
Would anyone believe that the corona virus will go away like a "miracle" in April? Oooops, it's May already.
Would anyone believe that The Trump White House “inherited” a “broken,” “bad,” and “obsolete” test for the coronavirus? The virus was not in humans during the previous administration. A test couldn't be developed.
Would anyone believe that "Anyone who needs a test will get a test? Nope.
That Trump and White House personnel have been vaccinated and therefore don't need masks? When the entire world can't get a vaccine? Just another lie.
And on and on. People believing this junk keep the lies alive and thus are dangerous to the country. ¨Don’t just teach your children to read…teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything¨ - George Carlin
Would anyone believe that the corona virus will go away like a "miracle" in April? Oooops, it's May already.
Would anyone believe that The Trump White House “inherited” a “broken,” “bad,” and “obsolete” test for the coronavirus? The virus was not in humans during the previous administration. A test couldn't be developed.
Would anyone believe that "Anyone who needs a test will get a test? Nope.
That Trump and White House personnel have been vaccinated and therefore don't need masks? When the entire world can't get a vaccine? Just another lie.
And on and on. People believing this junk keep the lies alive and thus are dangerous to the country. ¨Don’t just teach your children to read…teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything¨ - George Carlin
Go to www.wholechildreform.com for my book STOP POLITICALLY DRIVEN EDUCATION to see how we have been diminishing thinking in schools and how we can change the system so students can THINK WHILE IT IS STILL LEGAL!