The human brain has evolved to be very efficient at pattern recognition, but as the confirmation bias shows, we are focused on finding and confirming patterns rather than minimizing our false conclusions. Yet we needn’t be pessimists, for it is possible to overcome our prejudices. It is a start simply to realize that chance events, too, produce patterns. It is another great step if we learn to question our perceptions and our theories. Finally, we should learn to spend as much time looking for evidence that we re wrong as we spend searching for reasons we are correct.
Mlodinow, Leonard. The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives. New York: vintage Books, 2008. (via carvalhais)