41. People Filter Information
Have you ever met someone who has a long-held belief that he just won’t change, no matter how much evidence you show him that the belief is not tenable? People seek out and pay attention to information and cues that confirm their beliefs. They don’t seek out—in fact, they ignore or even discount—information that doesn’t support what they already believe.
Filtering is often useful, since it reduces the amount of information we have to pay attention to at any one time. But sometimes filtering can lead to bad choices.
In 1988 the U.S. Navy had a ship in the Persian Gulf called the USS Vincennes. One day, while scanning the radar screen on the ship, the crew saw an aircraft headed their way. They decided early on that ...
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