Why Facts Don't Change Our Minds

[Taylor]

Fascinating article from The New Yorker that helps explain the fake news craze. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds

I wish the author was less partisan and admitted that people on the left are just as prone to this phenomenon as people on the right. I suppose she kind of does, when she says that people who (for example) support or don't support the Affordable Care Act renege on the intensity of their opinions after they realize how little they actually understand about it. Either way, the science resonates with our current political climate.

[Jason]

Politics is very similar to having a favorite sports team. We root for them and want them to win no matter what. If a politician from your preferred party is up at the podium telling you that this is great and this is bad, most of their constituents will take what they are saying as gospel without researching the issue themselves. There are a lot of social issues people are passionate about and do not care about the other side no matter what. Facts are irrelevant when it comes to people's perceptions of the world

[Tank]

a chicken in every pot! a car in every garage! forty acres and a mule!

[Jason]

39 minutes ago, Tank said:

a chicken in every pot! a car in every garage! forty acres and a mule!

Could you imagine your social status if you own 40 acres in Manhattan?

[Adam]

Good read Taylor