Confirmation Bias

In this post we will explore confirmation bias based on historical event. So lets start.

In order to support their preexisting views or hypotheses, people are prone to looking for, interpreting, and remembering information in that way, while disregarding or downplaying conflicting evidence. This cognitive bias is known as confirmation bias. This bias, especially in the face of contradictory facts, can result in a distorted vision of reality and strengthen held beliefs. Here's a historical instance to show confirmation bias in action:

Galileo and the Geocentric Model is an illustration.

The geocentric model, which centered the universe on the Earth, was the dominant scientific perspective on the cosmos during the 16th and 17th centuries. The time's cultural and religious ideas reinforced this approach. By presenting evidence supporting the heliocentric model, which held that the Sun was at the center of the solar system and that the planets, including Earth, rotated around it, Italian scientist Galileo Galilei challenged this theory.

Galileo's observations, including his telescopic observations of the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus, strongly supported the heliocentric model proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus. However, his findings contradicted the entrenched geocentric model that had been endorsed by the Catholic Church and established as the accepted view.

Confirmation Bias at Play:

In this context, confirmation bias was evident among those who adhered to the geocentric model. They tended to dismiss or rationalize Galileo's evidence for the heliocentric model because it challenged their existing beliefs and the accepted authority of the Church. Instead of objectively evaluating the new evidence, they sought to confirm their preexisting views.

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