It has been assumed (very reasonably) for many years that enlightened self-government demands a science-literate citizenry. Perversely, however, recent research has shown that all manner of reasoning proficiency – from cognitive reflection to numeracy, from actively open-minded thinking to science literacy – magnifies political polarization on … | Dan Kahan Continue reading Science Literacy Magnifies Political Polarization on Policy-relevant Science Dan Kahan
Abstract This article describes evidence suggesting that science curiosity counteracts politically biased information processing. This finding is in tension with two bodies of research. The first casts doubt on the existence of “curiosity” as a measurable disposition. The other suggests that individual differences in cognition related to science comprehension — of which science curiosity, if Continue reading Science Curiosity and Political Information Processing Dan M. Kahan, Asheley Landrum, Katie Carpenter, Laura Helft and Kathleen Hall Jamieson (January 2017)
This conversation between Matthew Taylor and Rebel Wisdom’s David Fuller covers the destructive impact of new technology, how politics itself is based on bad-faith argumentation, and how a cultural shift is needed to reverse course. Posts where this video is embedded Polarization Is Tearing Us Apart We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial dividesTags: Continue reading Polarisation Vs Democracy Matthew Taylor
It’s not differences that divide us. It’s our judgments about each other that do. | Meg Wheatley Continue reading It’s Not Differences That Divide Us Meg Wheatley
As long as we think of difference as that which divides us, we shall dislike it; when we think of it as that which unites us we shall cherish it. | Mary Parker Follett Continue reading Difference Unites Us Mary Parker Follett
Abstract This paper compares the debate quality in the plenary sessions of an Irish Citizens’ Assembly and an Irish parliamentary committee to assess the epistemic effects of public deliberation on a contentious subject: abortion. The unusual occurrence of a similar process of detailed discussion on the same topic in different institutions at around the same Continue reading Measuring Epistemic Deliberation on Polarized Issues: the Case of Abortion Provision in Ireland Jane Suiter, David M Farrell , Clodagh Harris and Philip Murphy
Why we hate our political enemies — and how to stop | Arthur Brooks People: Arthur Brooks (1)Arthur C. Brooks American social scientistBooks: Arthur Brooks (4)Arthur C. Brooks American social scientistLove Your Enemies — Disagree Better, Not Less Arthur BrooksLove Your Enemies — Say No to Contempt Arthur BrooksLove Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Continue reading Why We Hate Our Political Enemies — and How to Stop Arthur Brooks
Our society is dangerously polarised. We don’t listen to each other. Too many of us are separating into ideological tribes. This has to stop. The future of our democracy depends on it. This is what the Munk Debates is all about. Opening minds to different points of view. Challenging groupthink. Debating controversial issues with rigour and honesty. | Munk Debates Continue reading Our Society Is Dangerously Polarised Munk Debates
I think we need a truly open-ended conversation with 8 billion strangers, and what makes that hard to do increasingly is a level of political fragmentation and extremism and partisanship born of our engagement with these new technologies. | Sam Harris Continue reading The Challenge of Open Dialogue in an Age of Technological Division Sam Harris (2025)
Education has long treated knowledge as something to be transmitted from teacher to student. Yet this one-way model no longer prepares us for a world of complexity and difference. Dialogic education offers an alternative path where learning becomes a shared inquiry, and understanding grows through genuine conversation. Continue reading Dialogic Learning Learning through conversation and difference
Sam Harris describes conversation as the only real alternative to violence. But today, meaningful dialogue is rare, especially across difference. Conversational Leadership offers a way to rebuild that possibility through everyday practices of listening, questioning, and staying present. Continue reading Sam Harris’s “Great Problem” and Conversational Leadership The vital connection
Introduction In an increasingly complex and interconnected world, the concept of binary bias, also known as binary thinking or black-and-white thinking, has gained significant relevance and importance. This cognitive bias reflects our innate tendency to simplify intricate issues, situations, or concepts by viewing them through an oversimplified lens, often inadvertently causing harm to society. … Continue reading The Perils of Binary Bias ** Simplifying complex issues into two extreme and opposing categories
Polarization is reshaping how we perceive and communicate with one another. Disagreement has turned into division, and conversation into confrontation. We need new ways of talking that rebuild trust, restore understanding, and make it possible to think together across our differences. Continue reading Polarization Is Tearing Us Apart We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides
Online platforms personalize content based on past behavior, shaping what information we see. This creates filter bubbles and epistemic bubbles, limiting exposure to diverse perspectives. Recognizing these patterns helps break out of intellectual isolation and engage with broader viewpoints. Continue reading Filter Bubbles, Epistemic Bubbles and Echo Chambers Distort the reality of the world
