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Confirmation Bias

4. Confirmation bias

Confirmation Bias makes us find data to support pre-drawn conclusions — as opposed to drawing conclusions based on all available data.

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In Short: Confirmation Bias happens when someone seeks out evidence to support a pre-made conclusion, rather than gathering evidence first and then drawing a conclusion based on it. As Paul Simon said in “The Boxer”: “A man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest.”

For Example: After the FCC waived “Fairness Doctrine” in 1987, broadcasters were free to slant news coverage according to their viewers’ beliefs and disbeliefs. By the 2000s, Fox broadcast to conservatives, CNN was for liberals, and MSNBC was for progressives. If you favor CNN, try watching Fox, or vice-versa. After 10 minutes, most viewers flee back to the “safety” of their preferred news source.

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