04-08-2019, 06:02 PM
Oh, I've also suffered from this. It's a side-effect of confirmation bias, I think. You've got your feelers out for certain things and sooner or later you're bound to learn something new which seems to confirm your theory.
One thing I've realized is that even respected and practiced scholars fall for this. Not many people come prepared for the challenges presented by a document like the VM.
The best remedy I think is to always be prepared to adjust your views when better evidence presents itself. Nobody has got it all right at the moment, and probably half of what I believe is just wrong. This isn't too problematic if you don't get stuck in a cycle of autoconfirmation that ignores better evidence.
One thing I've realized is that even respected and practiced scholars fall for this. Not many people come prepared for the challenges presented by a document like the VM.
The best remedy I think is to always be prepared to adjust your views when better evidence presents itself. Nobody has got it all right at the moment, and probably half of what I believe is just wrong. This isn't too problematic if you don't get stuck in a cycle of autoconfirmation that ignores better evidence.