The truth about denial : bias and self-deception in science, politics, and religion

People believe what they want to believe. It is a striking--yet all too familiar--fact about human beings that our belief-forming processes can be so distorted by fears, desires, and prejudices that an otherwise sensible person may sincerely uphold a false claim about the world despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. When we describe someone as being "in denial," we mean that he or she is personally threatened by some set of facts and cons...