Vine
🔎
Mind and markets

Lesson 94 · Written for kid, teen, and little

Only Hearing What You Want

We collect the facts that agree with us and skip right past the ones that don't.

The idea

Once we like an idea, our brain starts hunting for reasons it's right and quietly walks past the reasons it's wrong. That's confirmation bias. It feels exactly like research, but you're really just collecting cheers for something you already believed. The repair is simple and uncomfortable: go looking on purpose for the strongest case against your idea, and see whether it still stands up. 🔎

A

Words to know

5

confirmation bias

Only noticing the facts that agree with what you already think. You like a company, so you read the good reviews and skip the bad ones.

evidence

Facts you collect to find out whether something is true. Sales numbers are evidence; a friend's opinion is not.

counter-argument

A solid reason to believe the opposite of what you believe. Deliberately looking for one is the cure for confirmation bias.

source

Where a fact came from, like a website, a report, or a person.

primary source

The original place a fact came from, like a company's own report.

Try it — no accountSort into groups

Some habits really test an idea. Some just cheer for it.

Sort each habit: is it fair research, or just looking for yes?

0 / 6 sorted

In the full lesson

  1. 1Sort into groups
  2. 2Work out the number
  3. 3Make the call

Vine has 107 lessons like this one, each written three ways so a 7-year-old and a 17-year-old both get a version that fits.

Free to use

The practice portfolio is open.

Start practicing

More in Mind and markets