Last summer, the New York Times had an interesting editorial entitled "Your Brain Lies to You,” which was written by Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt. Amazingly, 18% of Americans believe the sun revolves around the earth and another 10% believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim.
According to the article, one of the causes of people holding on to blatant untruths is something called “source amnesia.” As your brain recalls information—even if it is incorrect—it is reprocessed by the brain and over time the information is separated from the context in which that information was first gathered.
One implication is that “source amnesia” can cause even intelligent individuals to “forget” that certain statements were originally propogated by discredible sources. The problem becomes more serious when “untruths” accord with people’s pre-existing worldview.
In other words, people tend to believe information that fits within their existing belief system. For example, in the case of believing Barack Obama is a Muslim, many people may already tend to believe that anyone with a middle name of Hussein “must be” a Muslim.
The article goes on to offer a couple of helpful hints for people interested in helping others unlearn. For instance, for individuals attempting to counter untruths, the authors suggest that repeating false rumors may be a counter-productive strategy. Using the case of Obama again, supporters should not emphasize that he is “not a Muslim;” rather, they should play up Obama’s Christian credentials.
The article also recommends that people be asked to imagine their reaction if evidence runs counter to a conclusion opposite of what they are expecting. Apparently, the simple act of asking people to consider an opposite interpretation causes them to be more open minded.
