While researching a recent Climate Minute I came across this article referencing research on ideological bias. Here's the text of the Climate Minute I recorded:
There's solid research showing that the more one clings to a particular ideological perspective, the worse one perceives the reality of a situation, and the worse one is at preparing for the future.
Think of someone you know who clings fiercely to a particular ideology. How effective is that person at wisely managing their life? Chances are, not very.
It's easy for me to see the ideologically driven misperceptions I disagree with. Not so easy to see ideological misperceptions in myself. One study reported “liberals and conservatives appear to be similarly motivated to deny scientific claims that are inconsistent with their attitudes.”
A quick self-test: I can ask myself “when was the last time I changed my mind on something important.” when was the last time that I could see that somebody who disagreed with maybe wasn't really crazy.
if we are to avoid the worst of climate change, we have to be willing to hold our ideology lightly enough to be open to solutions that don’t fit nicely into our world view.
I also just listened to a Ezra Klein podcast where the guest was Phillip Tetlock - he is the author of Superforecasting: "The Art and Science of Prediction." Found his perspectives on how unskilled we are at foreseeing the future useful. And that we can do better.