"Confirmation Bias/My Side Bias" by Ed Outlaw

Kudos to Ed Outlaw for his superb November 28, 2020 Owl and Ibis presentation, "Confirmation Bias/My Side Bias." A PDF copy of Ed's PowerPoint presentation is available here.

Ed's points of argumentation were:

1a: Confirmation Bias is common and significant in the way people think about political issues on both sides in our current politically polarized environment.

1b:This is both a cause and an effect of political polarization, leading to a cycle that perpetuates a politically divided community.

2a: Understanding one’s own Confirmation Bias can make a person’s political beliefs stronger, better-founded, and more convicted (counterintuitively).

2b: While at the same time working against political polarization.  

The discussion that followed explored a number of areas. Here are a few:

- Ed's points of argumentation were unopposed.

- When one is objectively on the "right" side (moral high ground) of a moral, political or social issue, is one a victim of confirmation bias or are they simply correct?

- Is US society at a moral impasse, especially in a political sense?

Congratulations and thanks, Ed!

Jim

O&I Admin

}:> & ~:)