CONFIRMATION DISSONANCE

NOTE: While I was preparing this post, this article ran in the New York Times: Wikipedia to Limit Changes to Articles on People
(how timely)

I hear a lot of people quoting Wikipedia as a primary (and only) source these days. Now, I mean no ill will toward Wikipedia, but I distrust something that can be edited by any one, at any time, to say any thing. Remember some of the political shenanigans involving the site?

Does Wikipedia need to be fixed?,* The Clinton/Obama War: The Battle of Wikipedia,* Wikipedia Edits Cause Australian Political Scandal,* Global warming, political correctness, and wikipedia,* Fox News Caught Editing Wikipedia [Changes Included],* Can Wikipedia handle the truth?

I could go on, but I think you get my drift. Abuses come from all sides, including from within.

I think that here is where our critical thinking skills should kick in, but scientists tell us that we are more likely to find confirmation of that which we already believe than information to the contrary. They call this 'confirmation bias.'

Confirmation bias * Confirmation bias * Confirmation bias * Confirmation bias * Confirmation bias

That being said, often when looking for information on subjects not solidly in the public eye, it is often one of few sources, if not the only source. What's a girl (or boy) to do?

Teaching about Confirmation Bias

It might also help to understand why this is so; Cognitive Dissonance, "a psychological phenomenon which refers to the discomfort felt at a discrepancy between what you already know or believe, and new information or interpretation.'

Cognitive Dissonance (L. Festinger)
cognitive dissonance

or
The Monty Hall Problem (an interesting read)