Fallacies and Cognitive Biases: Belief Bias ~ by Ransom

 

This article is part of an ongoing series that began with Fallacies and Cognitive Biases.

The above picture is a detail from "50 Cognitive Biases to be aware of so you can be the very best version of you"

"We judge an argument's strength not by how strongly it supports the conclusion but by how plausible the conclusion is in our minds."

This confirmation bias helps us conserve energy.

If we already believe something is true an argument for its veracity is going to carry more weight than an argument against.  Getting the conclusion right is half the battle, right?

In a simple world we can get away with this.  In a complex world where other people are attempting to exploit our biases for their own benefit this becomes a major weakness.

Being aware of this bias is probably the best defense other than getting chummy with a trustworthy pedant.