Summary: Confirmation bias is displayed when we selectively search our environment for evidence and information to confirm what we already think. Implicitly then, we tend to ‘ignore’ and therefore not spend any time seeking out information that does not support our existing beliefs. If I believe in UFOs I am going to frequent websites and buy books about UFOs and will not buy (or read) literature debunking the existence of UFOs. Basically, the human mind tends to primarily test the predictions of our personal hypotheses by only using data that will support them . We all do this to some degree. That is why the development of the scientific method was such a watershed moment for human civilization. Even at its earliest stages, the international community of scientists supported each other with a whole new way of approaching reality: hypotheses must be tested; it’s valuable to get feedback that you are wrong; and even if you get an answer which seems to confirm your hypothesis, others must confirm it independently. You might guess that those who believe technology will solve all our problems are the first to gravitate towards press conferences advertising Mars travel within a decade. These people tacitly choose to maintain a “blind spot” regarding scientific analysis of l ooming energy limitations and other basics. It’s as if societies employ tiny islands of science strung together by a huge web of fairy-tale stories.
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