What if you're wrong about something important right now, and your brain won't let you see it?

Not because you're stupid. Because of how human cognition works.

Monday's Float explored the pain of loving people in different information realities. Today we explore WHY - the psychological mechanisms that make smart, good people end up believing incompatible things.

What we explore:

The research:

• Dan Kahan (Yale): Identity-protective cognition and why smarter people are MORE polarized
• Jonathan Haidt: Moral foundations and why groups apply different frameworks
• Daniel Kahneman: System 1 vs System 2 thinking and the backfire effect

Real examples across domains:

• Business decisions (my own motivated reasoning disaster)
• Sports fans watching the same play differently
• Religious belief systems
• Flat Earth believers (including those who died trying to prove it)

Key insight: Intelligence doesn't protect you from motivated reasoning - it makes you BETTER at it. Smart people are better at constructing convincing arguments for what they already want to believe.

Seven signs of motivated reasoning in yourself:

1. Instant certainty
2. Selective skepticism
3. Asymmetric standards
4. Finding reasons vs seeking truth
5. Emotional reactions to evidence
6. Can't articulate the other side
7. Never changing your mind

Eight strategies for better thinking:

• Separate identity from belief
• Pre-commit to criteria
• Seek best counterarguments
• Consider opportunity costs
• Consult your past self
• Use disagreement as data
• Create accountability structures
• Practice small updates

This week's practice: The Belief Audit - pick one strong belief and honestly assess whether you're truth-seeking or position-defending.

Episode Length: 31 minutes w/ Bonus Song

Bonus Song: Riding Elephants

Part of The Current podcast - educational deep dives every Wednesday on navigating the information age.