Monday, September 22, 2008

Psychoanalyze Your Thought Processes

Why are voters resistant to change? Because change involves thought and analysis that most people are unable/unwilling to make. Those who are least capable of making informed decisions tend to think that they are very capable. Those who are very capable of making informed decisions tend to think that others are also analyzing information.
In the current presidential election, a major percentage of voters are already committed to "their candidate"; new arguments and evidence fall on deaf ears. And yet, if we, as a country, truly want change, we must be open-minded, flexible and willing to revise our opinions when new evidence warrants it. Most important, we must be able to recognize and acknowledge when we are wrong.

we are as bad at judging ourselves as we are at judging others. Most cognitive scientists now believe that the majority of our thoughts originate in the areas of the brain inaccessible to conscious introspection.

My candidate, myself

Even when faced with new facts and insights, most voters don't change their minds about their favorite candidates. A neurologist explains how they might.

By Robert Burton

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