Work Against Confirmation Bias

I'm prone to confirmation bias, and so are you. Having formed a strong opinion or view, we filter out information that contradicts that view, and focus more on information with reinforces this view.

Conformation bias is something of a default state for the human mind. There has been significant research on this phenomenon for years, because it plays such a large role in the problem of changing people's minds. You frequently see this phenomenon in the political sphere. I believe it's a significant reason why political pundits talk past one another, rather than enter into dialogue.

Tim Challies reviews an article by Al Mohler on confirmation bias, which I recommend you print off and read. He makes a few points worth your consideration:

• Confirmation bias is another example of the fallenness of man
• We are susceptible to bias and probably less open to new ideas than we should be
• We should discipline ourselves to read opposing viewpoints with care and fairness

Here's a practical suggestion for monitoring news of the day:

Use Google News to check out major news stories, and read articles published by sources with generally different editorial perspectives (i.e., New York Times and Wall Street Journal, or CNN and FoxNews). This rounds out the details of the information you have, and immediately gives you an opportunity to ask better questions about the story. This is a good first step towards wise thinking.