In the digital age, information is more plentiful than ever, but parsing truth from the abundance of competing claims can be daunting. Whether the subject is Ebola, vaccines or climate change, speculation and conspiracy theories compete with science for the public’s trust. Our guide to rational thinking is here to help. In the following pages, you’ll learn tools to identify the hallmarks of irrational thinking, evaluate evidence, recognize your own biases and develop strategies to transform shouting matches into meaningful discussions.
The Irrationalist in You
We’re programmed for irrational thought.
Irrational thinking stems from cognitive biases that strike us all. “People don’t think like scientists; they think like lawyers. They hold the belief they want to believe and then they recruit anything they can to support it,” says Peter Ditto, a psychologist who studies judgment and decision-making at the University of California, Irvine. Motivated reasoning — our tendency to filter facts to support our pre-existing belief systems — is the standard way we process information, Ditto says. “We almost never think about things without some preference in mind or some emotional inclination to want one thing or another. That’s the norm.”
If you think you’re immune, you’re not alone. We’re very good at detecting motivated reasoning and biases in other people, Ditto says, but terrible at seeing it in ourselves. Spend a few minutes in honest reflection, and chances are you will find a few examples from your own life. Whether we’re telling ourselves that we’re better-than-average drivers, despite those traffic tickets, or insisting we’ll get through a 40-hour to-do list in a single day, we’re all prone to demonstrably false beliefs.
