You Never Learn What You Don’t Wanna Know
January 6th, confirmation bias, and the fear of being proved wrong
Watching the televised hearing from the Select Committee Investigating January 6th last night rekindled the horror of that infamous day. Chairman Bennie Thompson and Vice-Chair Liz Cheney presented a compelling narrative of the events and, more importantly, the long lead-up to how it happened. The story is knit together with eyewitness testimony and indisputable facts—much of it coming from Trump supporters and family members.
Never-before-seen video footage, edited in chronological order, provided a visual timeline of events as the day’s crimes unfolded.
Perhaps you’re familiar with Confirmation Bias. It is the predisposition we all have to pay attention to information that supports and reinforces the views we already hold. Conversely, it causes a person to filter out, ignore, or discount counter-arguments, evidence, or information contrary to their pre-existing beliefs. In some cases, the bias is so strong that nothing can be done to persuade a person to consider another point of view.
The Grateful Dead song Black-Throated Wind says, “You ain’t gonna learn what you don’t wanna know.”
