Most Saturday mornings I make a cup of coffee and listen to the week's "Point of Inquiry" interview. I admire D.J. Grothe, and wish I had his job. This week was particularly good. Carol Tavris studies my favorite subject- cognitive dissonance. Why do people conitune to believe things that are obviously false? Turns out the more evidence against the belief, the stronger someone tends to believe it. Turns out, people surround themselves in echo chambers of people who only say what they want to hear and they ignore counterpoint. They search selectively for a reason to bolster their preformed opinion. When evidence to the contrary comes up they do not seek to incorporate it, but to invalidate it. In the interview, Tavris delves into the unique human capacity for undaunted self-deception.
2 comments:
I listen to Point of Inquiry almost every weekend as well and agree that Tavris was especially good. I am getting the book this weekend. She was brilliant and I think if people would just wake up and listen to the things she says in the book, I think it would solve many of our society's problems. One point, D.J.'s last name is Grothe, not Groethe. I met him a few years ago at a C.S.I.C.O.P. convention in New Mexico. Bright young man.
Yes, it's Grothe. I'll put her book on my list too.
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