[Flint]

Michael "The Skeptic" Shermer wrote a piece in Scientific American, on Confirmation Bias, specifically: how does it work? They used fMRI to study the brain activity of two groups, representing (based on their self-description) staunch left and right wingers.

They asked each group to evaluate both Bush and Kerry being caught in an obvious contradiction from a previoulsy stated position. Predictably, both groups bent over backwards to excuse their own guy, while crucifying the other.

The fMRI revealed that they did not use the part of their brain that evaluates things with logic and reason. They used the parts of their brain that process emotions, conflict resolution, and moral judgment. There was also a strong activation of their pleasure/reward centers.

Originally Posted by Drew Westen, Emory University, 2006 annual conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology

Essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and activation of positive ones.

Edit:

Originally Posted by Undertoad

The people who believe differently than you are perfectly normal people...
...How are we going to come together? Especially if there comes a time when we really need to?

This "use versus them" mentality has been nagging at me lately. I'm afraid it may be hard-wired into our brains.

At the risk of being slammed as a one-issue fanatic, I really think this is something we all need to talk about, and think about, seriously. What better place than the internet, for different people and opinions to come together? When something is on my mind, it surfaces in the form of song lyrics:

Originally Posted by Rush - Territories (Album: Power Windows)

In different circles we keep holding our ground. Indifferent circles, we keep spinning round and round and round.

Originally Posted by Rush - Killer Instinct (Album: Hold Your Fire)

Behind the finer feelings, the civilized veneer, the heart of a lonely hunter guards a a dangerous frontier.