Confirmation Bias.
Confirmation bias is one of those things that once identified seems so obvious. Even though it might be widely acknowledged yet stubbornly it can persist, all the way from seemingly small examples, to life influencing and shaping thought about it.
In many scenarios initial acknowledgement and first impression acceptance can lead to misinterpretation. Take this instance whereby a friend after getting a new car, was amazed at how many cars of the same colour they began to notice. It appeared that the colour of their car was the most popular, but was that really the case? In actual fact on checking the facts, it was not, but it just goes to show how easily on first impression one can believe something that is not true.
The type of contentious beliefs could include the age of the universe, as well as the earth being denoted as flat or round. Evolution and Creation beliefs are one arena which appears to be in constant arrears, whereby evidence that conflicts with already established ideas are occasionally rejected in favour of dogma.
I think all ideas, even long historically held beliefs should be independent of the majority view. The reason to accept them individually is if they are based on logical reality.
Of course there are some things that have no positive proof at this moment in time but it is fascinating to speculate the possibility of their existence.
Are their aliens scattered throughout the Universe? I like to think there are. I back this thought up with the facts that each scientific discovery points to increasing the likelihood of life in other places than Earth. In my own lifetime the Universe has transformed for me. In terms of knowledge, it has gone from a few galaxies to there being more stars than individual grains of sand on all the beaches of Earth. However, I believe that the chances of contact from other alien life forms are getting less likely for the simple reason that the Universe is inflating at an incredible rate and the physical distance is growing all the time. Another point is life does not have to gain technical capabilities for communication in order to exist. That still leaves the possibility that aliens are all ready here but choose not to reveal themselves.
My bias for belief in the possibility of aliens is in the present day understanding of scientific knowledge but that could change with new scientific discoveries. It is so easy to form beliefs that come from first impression but to have a true understanding of reality one has to check the foundations of why one believes something in the first place.
In many scenarios initial acknowledgement and first impression acceptance can lead to misinterpretation. Take this instance whereby a friend after getting a new car, was amazed at how many cars of the same colour they began to notice. It appeared that the colour of their car was the most popular, but was that really the case? In actual fact on checking the facts, it was not, but it just goes to show how easily on first impression one can believe something that is not true.
The type of contentious beliefs could include the age of the universe, as well as the earth being denoted as flat or round. Evolution and Creation beliefs are one arena which appears to be in constant arrears, whereby evidence that conflicts with already established ideas are occasionally rejected in favour of dogma.
I think all ideas, even long historically held beliefs should be independent of the majority view. The reason to accept them individually is if they are based on logical reality.
Of course there are some things that have no positive proof at this moment in time but it is fascinating to speculate the possibility of their existence.
Are their aliens scattered throughout the Universe? I like to think there are. I back this thought up with the facts that each scientific discovery points to increasing the likelihood of life in other places than Earth. In my own lifetime the Universe has transformed for me. In terms of knowledge, it has gone from a few galaxies to there being more stars than individual grains of sand on all the beaches of Earth. However, I believe that the chances of contact from other alien life forms are getting less likely for the simple reason that the Universe is inflating at an incredible rate and the physical distance is growing all the time. Another point is life does not have to gain technical capabilities for communication in order to exist. That still leaves the possibility that aliens are all ready here but choose not to reveal themselves.
My bias for belief in the possibility of aliens is in the present day understanding of scientific knowledge but that could change with new scientific discoveries. It is so easy to form beliefs that come from first impression but to have a true understanding of reality one has to check the foundations of why one believes something in the first place.
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