Should we have a more studied approach to avoiding idea resistance?

Confirmation Bias seems to be human nature. But it would be of great use if there was a way to teach people how to break out of that paradigm. If I were czar of education, i would make it a required yearly exercise from Kindergarten through undergraduate degree.

No, there are very few people who can actually see past their nose. Teaching people to think is not really possible.

I don’t think that confirmation bias or idea resistance are actually avoidable as such. I think that people need to be taught about them and to remember that they are subject to cognitive bias. Then they can learn to overcome that bias.
It’s important to remember that there is no way we know about to determine a priori which of our ideas is reinforced by cognitive bias. We have to question everything, even when it’s uncomfortable to do so.
We can’t force people to think- but we can and should provide them with the tools to do so as well as possible. We all could stand to be less wrong.

Critical thinking needs to be taught from birth, basically. We are all subject to our own biases, and we need to know it in order to do anything about it. Question everything!

@zenvelo Any thoughts as Education Czar on how to teach people to have an open mind without teaching them to be airheads. I mean, open mind is one thing, but the History Channel’s Ancient Alien crap is ridiculous.

@YARNLADY Humans have noses? Darn. I’d never noticed that. I have noticed, however, that those who declare things impossible without first having found some reason that they have to be impossible are wrong an impossibly large percentage of the time.

@rexacoracofalipitorius That seems to me an answer that is more right. Thanks.

@augustlan Yes, but my bias is that I have NO biases, which means the rest of you are a sorry lot. No go out and question everything… except that! :-)

I’ve seen Attia’s talk and it’s very good. Disturbing but good. I think @rexacoracofalipitorius and @augustlan are correct. I know I am a much more critical thinker than I was before I started studying again, years ago now. I always questioned, but I do so more now. I could always stand to be even more critical.

So I think if we can engage our children, from a very young age, into taking a more evidence based approach to life, this would help. Getting them to search for answers and investigate problems and ideas rather than taking a didactive approach. “Okay, this book says… let’s go and do some more research.” That would mean changing our whole education system and that’s not likely to happen but I think it would be fabulous if we did. I’ve always felt school should not be about imparting knowledge, but should be about encouraging children to explore and about building on their natural inquisitiveness. We can start with our own children.

I love it when students, especially those who have had a very black and white view on a topic, come to me or the group and say – I’ve changed my mind. I went and researched and this is what I’ve discovered. If I can only get them to be open enough to go and start looking at different perspectives, it’s a big step.

^ didactic!

@Bellatrix Thanks for correction it, but I understood you perfectly.

:-) I’m sure you did. The correction was for me too though.