Everybody knows that our political views can sometimes get in the way of thinking clearly. But perhaps we don't realize how bad the problem actually is. According to a new psychology paper, our political passions can even undermine our very basic reasoning skills. More specifically, the study finds that people who are otherwise very good at math may totally flunk a problem that they would otherwise probably be able to solve, simply because giving the right answer goes against their political beliefs.
Do facts matter? Apparently not. Presenting facts to people who have been misinformed only causes them to further entrench their original beliefs, even when the facts reveal those beliefs as prejudiced. Worse, the more educated and able people are, the more they tend to cling to their norms. This begs the question: how can we reason with elites on important issues?
via @lissnup on WordPress
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