Changes

==Confirmation bias vs. Objectivity==

==Confirmation bias vs. Objectivity==

Confirmation bias sabotages [[objectivity]] (cf. [[Socratic principle]]) by discarding or ignoring data which challenges the prevailing consensus. The best scientists consciously strive to overcome this psychological tendency, while advertisers, partisans and many journalists try exploit it. This is because almost everyone is subject to confirmation bias to at least some degree, and it is one of the most difficult logical fallacies to overcome. For example, when watching a favorite sports team, it is very difficult to spot infractions made by your own team, and very easy to spot those made by the other - while someone cheering for the other team will notice the reverse. The objective mindset is that certain infractions will be penalized regardless of which team you want to win.

Confirmation bias sabotages [[objectivity]] (cf. [[Socratic principle]]) by discarding or ignoring data which challenges the prevailing consensus. The best scientists consciously strive to overcome this psychological tendency, while advertisers, partisans and many journalists try to exploit it. This is because almost everyone is subject to confirmation bias to at least some degree, and it is one of the most difficult logical fallacies to overcome. For example, when watching a favorite sports team, it is very difficult to spot infractions made by your own team, and very easy to spot those made by the other - while someone cheering for the other team will notice the reverse. The objective mindset is that certain infractions will be penalized regardless of which team you want to win.

The opposite of [[bias]] and [[prejudice]] is objectivity and even [[skepticism]]. Scientists who are open minded avidly seek out data which might potentially contradict their theories - or at least the theories of their colleagues. Ideally, if collected data contradict a prediction made by any theory, then the theory must be reevaluated or even discarded. This is part of the purpose of scientific [[peer review]]; the idea is to make sure that a particular experiment can convince scientists who might not believe a particular hypothesis (and are therefore not subject to confirmation bias).

The opposite of [[bias]] and [[prejudice]] is objectivity and even [[skepticism]]. Scientists who are open minded avidly seek out data which might potentially contradict their theories - or at least the theories of their colleagues. Ideally, if collected data contradict a prediction made by any theory, then the theory must be reevaluated or even discarded. This is part of the purpose of scientific [[peer review]]; the idea is to make sure that a particular experiment can convince scientists who might not believe a particular hypothesis (and are therefore not subject to confirmation bias).

==Challanging conventional wisdom==

==Challanging conventional wisdom==