We learn from history that man can never learn anything from history.

Finally, it has been shown that the tendency for people to think of themselves as above average is reduced – even for ambiguous traits – when people are required to use specific definitions of each trait in their judgments.27.

Psychologists have known for some time that rewarding desirable responses is generally more effective in shaping behavior than punishing undesirable responses.19 However, the average person tends to find this fact surprising, and punishment has been the preferred reinforcer for the majority of parents in both modern society19 and in earlier periods.

When people learn no tools of judgment and merely follow their hopes, the seeds of political manipulation are sown.”11 As individuals and as a society, we should be less accepting of superstition and sloppy thinking, and should strive to develop those “habits of mind” that promote a more accurate view of the world.

Often when we get to know someone whose words and deeds were off-putting, once we get a better sense of how that person is understanding events, our dislike dissipates.

We hold many dubious beliefs, in other words, not because they satisfy some important psychological need, but because they seem to be the most sensible conclusions consistent with the available evidence. People hold such beliefs because they seem, in the words of Robert Merton, to be the “irresistible products of their own experience.”7 They are the products, not of irrationality, but of flawed rationality.

When examining evidence relevant to a given belief, people are inclined to see what they expect to see, and conclude what they expect to conclude. Information that is consistent with our pre-existing beliefs is often accepted at face value, whereas evidence that contradicts them is critically scrutinized and discounted. Our beliefs may thus be less responsive than they should to the implications of new information.

People are often unaware of their own unawareness.

We seek opinions that are likely to support what we want to be true.

Our motivations thus influence our beliefs through the subtle ways we choose a comforting pattern from the fabric of evidence.