How Confirmation Bias Works and How to Avoid It

What is confirmation bias? When a group of ghost hunters walk into a “haunted house”, they’ll most likely find evidence of a ghost. When a pair of demonologists investigate the troubled ravings of a seriously mentally ill young girl, they are likely to find evidence of possession. When UFO-hunters go to spot those elusive UFOs, a majority of them actually spot unusual things moving around in the skies.

After spending half a decade rubbing elbows with people who are interested in paranormal and fringe topics, I can tell you two central themes that I’ve seen over, and over, and over. The first is that people who become interested in fringe topics nearly always find evidence that supports their particular theory within that topic. The second is that these people often become consumed with the topic – it takes over their lives and it becomes core to their identity.

What is this phenomenon? Why are people who become so convinced that UFOs have to be aliens visiting earth so difficult to convince otherwise? Why are skeptics, so dead-set against the possibility that unseen spirits exist Read more…