A recent study by psychologists at Yale did a good job of highlighting the grip that confirmation bias can exert on our brains. Researchers asked a group of volunteers about their political views, and then had them analyze some data on gun control. Those who had identified themselves as conservatives made significantly more numerical mistakes when asked to analyze data that seemed to indicate that gun control worked. And the liberals became equally innumerate when they were faced with figures suggesting gun control did not work.1 It’s just that little bit harder for our brains to think clearly
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