In this last election, there has been much discussion in the reality-based community about how people can casually disregard what may seem to be indisputable evidence.
There seems to be a very common frustration with people "on the other side" who can't quite grasp what "ought to be" obvious.
Enter the world of information overload and cognitive dissonance.
For those who haven't come across the concept before, information overload refers to the increasing volume of information that flows past our senses on a daily basis. Television, newspapers, radio, the Internet. Everywhere we go, we are inundated with words that cry for attention, from news to advertising.
We "tune out" the things which we think are worthless, like television ads, and "tune in" when we think something may be worth a closer examination, like a news story.
Cognitive dissonance theory states that when faced with data which violate our view of reality, we must do one of two things: change our perception to accomodate the new data so that it fits into our new world view, or discard the new data as unconvincing.
Failure to make one of the two choices results in cognitive dissonance; we float in indecision until such time as we have a chance to evaluate the problem and make a choice. This is not a comfortable situation for many people - it results in signficant mental stress.
As our day-to-day lives get more complex, we end up with a growing list of issues which we no longer have time to rationally examine. Information overload produces increasing potential for cognitive dissonance. I believe this has led to a couple of interesting phenomena.
First, the rebirth of faith in America. For some, religion has offered a path of simplicity. By filtering all information through the lens of organized religion, many potential sources of cognitive dissonance are removed. Instead of making a choice on the relative merits of observed data, some people choose to let their faith guide their decisions. For these individuals, the problem is solved two-fold. Not only are their decisions simpler to make, but they get the added comfort of knowing that they are not personally responsible for making that choice.
The practice of letting a single ideology govern the resolution of cognitive dissonance is not limited to the religious, however. There are many people using political ideology in the same way that religious zealots apply their religious views, and it is true of both conservatives and liberals.
Extending from this phenomenon of ideology-based decision making is the rise of alternative data streams. Fox News, political blogs, discussion forums, and even this site are clear examples of people fleeing from their cognitive dissonance. There are innumerable accounts of people posting here who say coming here is soothing for them, and you can find similar examples on the opposite side of the spectrum at conservative blogs.
So, the next time you see someone who just doesn't "get it" when you try to explain why they are wrong, try not to come down too hard on them.
They're only being human.