Post by bob on Feb 15, 2013 17:51:55 GMT -5
This is an interesting article on why, for some people, facts don't work.
uk.news.yahoo.com/will-storr-the-heretics--journalists-explores--why-facts-don-t-work--with--enemies-of-science--114518590.html#2pTwSTs
Bob Marks
There are groups of people, however, who deny the irrefutable; who see cold, hard facts as mistruths or simply inconvenient.
Whether they are Holocaust deniers, creationists, or those who believe in UFOs - there are plenty out there whose view of the world defies centuries of scientific evidence.
So why are there intelligent, seemingly rational people like this, who are capable of such unreasonable logic?
The question is the subject of Storr's new book, which explores the 'beliefs of non-believers'. Put simply, he wants to know why 'facts don't work'.
He takes a tour of a Nazi death camp, goes on a UFO-spotting trip, and even a fossil excavation with a renowned creationist, all in the name of investigating outlandish belief systems...
Storr admits that some of the beliefs he came across were more offensive than others, but says 'confirmation bias' plays a large role in how we form our views.
This means that many people subconsciously only choose evidence which supports their views, while selectively rejecting evidence which goes against them.
Confirmation bias, he says, relates to the neurological 'hero maker' that we all share. Storr believes we are all driven by an inner narrative, 'where we are struggling through our days to make better lives for ourselves'.
Whether they are Holocaust deniers, creationists, or those who believe in UFOs - there are plenty out there whose view of the world defies centuries of scientific evidence.
So why are there intelligent, seemingly rational people like this, who are capable of such unreasonable logic?
The question is the subject of Storr's new book, which explores the 'beliefs of non-believers'. Put simply, he wants to know why 'facts don't work'.
He takes a tour of a Nazi death camp, goes on a UFO-spotting trip, and even a fossil excavation with a renowned creationist, all in the name of investigating outlandish belief systems...
Storr admits that some of the beliefs he came across were more offensive than others, but says 'confirmation bias' plays a large role in how we form our views.
This means that many people subconsciously only choose evidence which supports their views, while selectively rejecting evidence which goes against them.
Confirmation bias, he says, relates to the neurological 'hero maker' that we all share. Storr believes we are all driven by an inner narrative, 'where we are struggling through our days to make better lives for ourselves'.
uk.news.yahoo.com/will-storr-the-heretics--journalists-explores--why-facts-don-t-work--with--enemies-of-science--114518590.html#2pTwSTs
Bob Marks
