Does Politics Make us Get our Sums Wrong?
Researchers have measured how much personal opinions cloud our judgement. The study suggests maths ability plummets when we are looking at data which clashes with our worldview.
To what degree do our personal opinions cloud our judgement? Yale University researchers have attempted to detect and measure how our political beliefs affect our ability to make rational decisions. The study suggests that our ability to do maths plummets when we’re looking at data which clashes with our worldview. Ruth Alexander and Ben Carter consider Professor Dan Kahan’s findings.
(Image: 'The Thinker' by French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
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- Sat 9 Nov 2013 11:50GMTBBC World Service Online
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