The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake

by Steven Novella

The power of confirmation bias is that it works tirelessly in the background, filtering vast amounts of data, until you have a compelling illusion that the evidence supports your belief. In a way, your own brain is gaslighting you, convincing you that reality is different than it actually is and giving you false confidence. It can be incredibly difficult to shake a belief that is supported by a huge construct of confirmation bias. Doing so would involve admitting that you can be profoundly wrong about something that you are sure is correct because you’ve just seen too much evidence in its favor. It can be unsettling to realize how vulnerable we are to such biases—but that’s a humbling and necessary step toward critical thinking.