In the book Thinking Fast and Slow, psychologist Daniel Kahneman reveals our tendency to avoid critical thought and to only to see what we want to see.
Our minds are wired to cling to our current worldview to avoid being plunged into the chaos of open questions. It’s far safer, easier and more comfortable to massage new information to fit previously-held beliefs.
Critical thinking requires effort. It’s far easier to borrow the “team” view, which also comes with the warm buzz of being part of the team.
Cognitive bias, sometimes described as fake news’ best friend, also exposes us to manipulation. Historian Yuval Noah Harari thinks the more people believe in free will the easier it is to manipulate them because they won’t think that their feelings are being produced and manipulated by some external system.
Media and psychology expert Jason Ohler says that when we become aware of confirmation bias, we realize that as human beings we can’t totally trust ourselves, and that’s part of being human. We have to acknowledge that, forgive ourselves for it, but also be aware of it.