Given the strong and varied opinions that surround many social topics and matters, examining the differences between fact, opinion, and truth may prove useful to leaders as they sort through their own views about contemporary social issues. A fact is indisputable. Facts can be objectively verified and proven through evidence. Facts are not decided by how many people believe in them. They are concrete realities that don’t change. Facts are determined by objective, not subjective, measurement. As evidence mounts, facts become irrefutable. Over time, we acknowledge facts. We don’t create them.
This Wikipedia on Confirmation Bias is an interesting discussion including a
"Biased search for information, biased interpretation of this information, and biased memory recall, have been invoked to explain four specific effects:
-attitude polarization (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence)
-belief perseverance (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false)
-the irrational primacy effect (a greater reliance on information encountered early in a series)
-illusory correlation (when people falsely perceive an association between two events or situations)."
Recognizing and questioning the subtleties helps parse out facts, opinions and truth.
I think where most people get tripped up here is they are either blind to or become a slave to their personal agendas (or someone else’s). Lot’s of potential cognitive biases come mind but I think Conservatism bias - the tendency to insufficiently revise one's belief when presented with new evidence is most relevant to today’s post.
This Wikipedia on Confirmation Bias is an interesting discussion including a
"Biased search for information, biased interpretation of this information, and biased memory recall, have been invoked to explain four specific effects:
-attitude polarization (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence)
-belief perseverance (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false)
-the irrational primacy effect (a greater reliance on information encountered early in a series)
-illusory correlation (when people falsely perceive an association between two events or situations)."
Recognizing and questioning the subtleties helps parse out facts, opinions and truth.
I think where most people get tripped up here is they are either blind to or become a slave to their personal agendas (or someone else’s). Lot’s of potential cognitive biases come mind but I think Conservatism bias - the tendency to insufficiently revise one's belief when presented with new evidence is most relevant to today’s post.