Phil Fernbach

And yet we have these passionate, strong views and are unable to compromise across the political divide. And that was a core issue that really got me interested in this stuff.

And yet we have these passionate, strong views and are unable to compromise across the political divide. And that was a core issue that really got me interested in this stuff.

I think in many cases they are wrong. And actually we've demonstrated that in experiments. So what we've done is something very akin to the toilet experiment that I described earlier. We bring people into the lab and we ask them about their position on the issues of the day, the things that we're arguing about as a society. And then we ask them how well they understand those issues.

I think in many cases they are wrong. And actually we've demonstrated that in experiments. So what we've done is something very akin to the toilet experiment that I described earlier. We bring people into the lab and we ask them about their position on the issues of the day, the things that we're arguing about as a society. And then we ask them how well they understand those issues.

I think in many cases they are wrong. And actually we've demonstrated that in experiments. So what we've done is something very akin to the toilet experiment that I described earlier. We bring people into the lab and we ask them about their position on the issues of the day, the things that we're arguing about as a society. And then we ask them how well they understand those issues.

People tend to say, oh yeah, I understand it pretty well. And then we ask them to explain the mechanism, explain in detail how it works. And we find this large decrease in the sense of understanding. So people are humbled by that because they try to explain and they realize, wow, I just have a talking point or two. I actually don't understand this thing in detail.

People tend to say, oh yeah, I understand it pretty well. And then we ask them to explain the mechanism, explain in detail how it works. And we find this large decrease in the sense of understanding. So people are humbled by that because they try to explain and they realize, wow, I just have a talking point or two. I actually don't understand this thing in detail.

People tend to say, oh yeah, I understand it pretty well. And then we ask them to explain the mechanism, explain in detail how it works. And we find this large decrease in the sense of understanding. So people are humbled by that because they try to explain and they realize, wow, I just have a talking point or two. I actually don't understand this thing in detail.

So I've studied this in the context of controversial scientific issues. So things like the safety of genetically modified foods or the reality of climate change. In those cases, there's a substantial minority of the population who expresses really extreme, strong counter-consensus views. views that are counter to the scientific consensus.

So I've studied this in the context of controversial scientific issues. So things like the safety of genetically modified foods or the reality of climate change. In those cases, there's a substantial minority of the population who expresses really extreme, strong counter-consensus views. views that are counter to the scientific consensus.

So I've studied this in the context of controversial scientific issues. So things like the safety of genetically modified foods or the reality of climate change. In those cases, there's a substantial minority of the population who expresses really extreme, strong counter-consensus views. views that are counter to the scientific consensus.

And what we find in that case is that the people who have the strongest

And what we find in that case is that the people who have the strongest

And what we find in that case is that the people who have the strongest

Counter consensus views have the highest levels of subjective understanding They feel like they understand these issues the best which makes sense because if I feel like I understand it really well I'm gonna have a strong opinion But when we measure their actual understanding of the issue in a variety of ways They actually have the lowest levels of objective knowledge so when you put those things together

Counter consensus views have the highest levels of subjective understanding They feel like they understand these issues the best which makes sense because if I feel like I understand it really well I'm gonna have a strong opinion But when we measure their actual understanding of the issue in a variety of ways They actually have the lowest levels of objective knowledge so when you put those things together

Counter consensus views have the highest levels of subjective understanding They feel like they understand these issues the best which makes sense because if I feel like I understand it really well I'm gonna have a strong opinion But when we measure their actual understanding of the issue in a variety of ways They actually have the lowest levels of objective knowledge so when you put those things together

the people who have the most extreme counter consensus views have this huge gap between what they think they know and what they actually know.

the people who have the most extreme counter consensus views have this huge gap between what they think they know and what they actually know.

the people who have the most extreme counter consensus views have this huge gap between what they think they know and what they actually know.