Let's do this one a bit more casual than some of the rest. We have all met someone in our lives that is obviously educated and possesses a fair bit of intelligence, but is just objectively wrong in their opinions and/or beliefs. Someone who can comprehend complex topics with no issue, but will somehow manage to only absorb the information that conforms to their existing biases. These special individuals are who we will be discussing today.
A popular debate from recent years that has since subsided is the shape of the Earth. I don’t think it is a hot take to throw out there that the globe is spherical just like the majority of the celestial bodies in the observable universe. There are mountains of data proving this from basic physics to observations from private and publicly owned satellites taking images of us from our upper atmosphere. Despite this, there was a time not too long ago (maybe even to this day) where seemingly large pockets of the internet would try to prove the sheeple of the general public wrong about this. Many of these people are educated and highly intelligent individuals.
This is where personal bias comes in. One of the most incredible things about the human mind is that it can transform the world around you into what is most comfortable for you to process. A downside to this is that it makes it easy for us to unconsciously allow our pre-existing notions to filter through the data we receive and shoehorn it into the hypothesis we had from the beginning. I spoke on flat earthers earlier because everyone has some level of familiarity with the subject, but this comes into play in every section of our daily lives. You’re having a bad morning? That car that cut you off in traffic did it specifically to spite you. You just finished watching a scary movie before bed? That creaking sound down the hall is definitely the monster coming to show you the constructs of fiction can’t hold it back.
I’ve noticed that the older you become, the more susceptible you are to this phenomenon. Our brains are optimized to limit the number of decisions we have to consciously make by using our previous experiences to fill in the blanks. Like the autocorrect feature on your phone, we see the context of whatever situation we’re in and make a guess as to what comes next based on what’s happened in the past. Overall, this is incredibly helpful in our day to day. Something as routine as our drive to work can be done with next to no active attention because it’s done automatically so long as the route stays the same.
The main area where this becomes problematic is our ever-evolving social climate. Things that were once commonplace are now complete anomalies and vice versa. I’m only 23 (at the time of writing this) and it seems like every month or so I’m needing to learn a new social rule or change my world view to accommodate the personalities and identities that are becoming more and more prevalent. I don’t think this is a bad thing if you are able to keep an open mind about it. If you recognize your biases and where you are ignorant, you’re able to progress with the times as much as you desire. I personally don’t use much social media, so I hear about most things in fragments or through the lens of someone else’s bias. To combat this, I will occasionally have a coaching session with my little sisters on “how not to be a dick by mistake”.
At the end of the day, you will always witness the world through your own hyper-specific lens. You will hold some opinions that are objectively incorrect and you may get into arguments with others about them. The key is to recognize that the human mind can be as malleable as you allow it to be and your only limitation when it comes to your own brand of intelligence is how much you are willing to admit you don’t know.
I will end this with some homework for anyone interested in some extra credit. Listen to someone, in person or online, share viewpoints you feel strongly against. Don’t half listen while you formulate your own counter argument, but genuinely listen to the things they are saying and the reasons they are saying it. It’s fine for you to come out of it with the same beliefs you went into it with, but allow in your mind the possibility that they may have some good points.
As I step down from my soap box, I ask but one favor. Have a great night and take care until next time
Aidan
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