A podcast in the National Public Radio series "Hidden Brain" entitled "Facts aren't enough: the psychology of false beliefs" discusses "confirmation bias"-an inductive reasoning error in which someone understands and recalls information in a way that confirms prior beliefs despite evidence to the contrary. In other words, wanting something to be true makes it seem so. With confirmation bias, we not only distance ourselves from the data, we also discredit it by seeking out other (less reputable) sources that agree with us, including social media or trusted others. As a result, it becomes difficult to change people's strongly held but false beliefs, such that inundating someone with facts is unlikely to change their minds in many cases and might even reinforce their incorrect beliefs.
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