Naive Realism - YANSS 101

naive realism, the tendency to believe that the other side is wrong because they are misinformed, that if they knew what you knew, they would change their minds to match yours... maybe WE are the ones who are wrong. We never go into the debate hoping to be enlightened, only to crush our opponents...
When confronted with people who disagree, you tend to assume there must be a rational explanation... If you thought people to the left or right were more attuned to reality ... you'd already be there with them... we are *enlightened* by our influencers... but others are 'understandably biased'... we think we are free of biases... people like are you rewarded by experience with enlightenment... people you disagree with are polluted by experience with bias...
The more objective a news source, the more biased it seems to more people... "the observer observing a stone is observing the effects of the stone on himself"... we believe we are uniquely objective... you think when someone disagrees with you ... you can 'fix' them with the same facts you've seen... pour in a bucket of facts and as long as they're reasonable & intelligent they'll magically come into line... if they don't then they're unreasonable... poisoned by self-interest or ideology...
the scientific method says you can look at data in a biased way... but you can't process information in the light of your beliefs and then test those beliefs with that information... saves us from confirmation bias...
if you approach someone to bring them to your side there's just going to be conflict... instead ... "I'm hoping that person will change my views... an opportunity to feel out the shape of my own ignorance"... we can´t walk in another's shoes but we can recognise their authenticity ... that they're behaving in accordance with their values... if we spent time talking, we might uncover really important agreements... exercises that allow you to identify shared fundamental values are terrifically valuable