This article is a great overview of confirmation bias. I truly don’t think you can eliminate bias. But the worst thing you can do for yourself is to not be aware of the potential biases that affect your own viewpoints and those of the people you consume information and opinions from.
I’m constantly surprised at how many people seem to be unaware that they’re affected by biases: Everyone else is the problem; no, no, not them. They’re un-biased.
Bullshit. Thinking that is ignorant.
(via @zeldman)
Rush Limbaugh and Keith Olbermann, Glenn Beck and Arianna Huffington, Rachel Maddow and Ann Coulter – these people provide fuel for beliefs, they pre-filter the world to match existing world-views.
If their filter is like your filter, you love them. If it isn’t, you hate them.
Whether or not pundits are telling the truth, or vetting their opinions, or thoroughly researching their topics is all beside the point. You watch them not for information, but for confirmation.
David McRaney, Confirmation Bias
