"Myside Bias"

There used to be an old saying that went something like this: "You can't tell any body something they don't already know." The basic meaning of this comment was that people only listened to perspectives which fit their own narrative or opinion. Otherwise, they paid little attention to any facts or points of view with which they disagreed. True or not, this certainly painted a negative picture of how open minded people were. This old saying has since been updated with a new a tag line: "myside bias." It, too, speaks to the observation that people are primarily open to that with which they already agree. If true, other interpretations, conflicting facts or differences of opinion are aspects of communication or, on a larger scale, enlightenment that people continue to not wish to listen to hear or be bothered with.

My concern is not that this paints us in a negative light. Rather, I am worried  it may be increasingly accurate. If so, the consequences are far reaching. Imagine living in a world where everyone is so certain of what they know that they are uninterested in perspectives that may vary from theirs or any new information that may come along that possibly makes the set of facts to which they cling obsolete or, in heaven forbid, inaccurate? In such a world everyone would practically have their own reality. How would that affect such things as collaboration, tolerance or communication? Would it lead to greater amounts of conflict, isolation and division? Would anything even akin to harmony over a sustained amount of time exist?

I, for one, would not want to be part of a world where certainty reigns. A big part of the magic of us is that we remain unintimidated by the unknown. We are driven by our desire to see what lies beyond the river's bend. In other words, one distinguishing characteristic of our species is our open mindedness. But I look at such realities as the rise of niche journalism and the fact members of the United States Congress seem so unwilling to work with each other due to their so-called certainty over the correctness of their ideology. The ever-growing result of these particular circumstances ranges from low morale and frustration to stagnation and cynism. For communicators, this creates a major challenge: getting people to become comfortable with feelings of uncertainty and brave enough to work with others to seek answers in a collaborative manner.