One of the tricks our mind plays is to highlight evidence which confirms what we already believe. If we hear gossip about a rival we tend to think “I knew he was a nasty piece of work”; if we hear the same about our best friend we’re more likely to say “that’s just a rumour”. If you don’t trust the government then a change of policy is evidence of their weakness; if you do trust them the same change of policy can be evidence of their inherent reasonableness. Once you learn about this mental habit – called confirmation bias – you start seeing it everywhere.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170131-why-wont-some-people-listen-to-reason
