How We Know What Isn't So (A Psychological Study on Logic)

by Thomas Gilovich

By judiciously choosing the right people to consult, we can increase our chances of hearing what we want to hear. Smokers can discuss their habit’s health risks with other smokers; Nixon fans can explore the “real meaning” of the Watergate scandal with those of similar ideological bent. There are a number of physiologists at Cornell who differ in their assessments of the importance of dietary fat as a determinant of serum cholesterol and arteriosclerosis. This variability in expert opinion gives members of the Cornell community an opportunity to find support for whatever eating practices they wish. Those who need to justify the lost opportunities brought on by an austere diet can talk with someone willing and able to describe the latest studies testifying to the evils of dietary fat; those with an appetite for Continental cuisine can talk with someone eager to discuss the critical flaws of those very same studies. We seek opinions that are likely to support what we want to be true.