Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds – The New Yorker
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February 22, 2017A 1975 study at Stanford University proved that when a person has an idea believed to be a fact, once formed it perseveres even when given information that the fact isn’t true.
While we may believe that reason is always logical, the research found that reason is an evolved trait to help us live in collaborative groups. Given that we needed to collaborate on the African plains, reason gave us not the ability to solve abstract, logical problems or even to draw conclusions from unfamiliar data, instead it helped us resolve problems with others.
The research explained that people develop a confirmation bias to things they believe as true. They also tend to dismiss any new evidence to the contrary. Strong feelings in most people, tends to override and deep understanding. It’s in our nature as humans to act this way.