This documentary financed by the Canadian government provides a good overview of the outcomes due to our cognitive biases combined with the democracy of the internet and social media. The one thing the documentary makers neglect to do is explain what a cognitive bias is. It is a systematic error in thinking that impacts one’s choices and judgments. In other words when it comes to information processing the human mind makes mistakes. Most of the mistakes are made in a such systematic way that they are predictable. There is only one big problem, most of us are unaware that we may be processing information which has no bases in reason. The upshot is that we now live in a democracy of the gullible, but we need to turn the tide of belief in conspiracy theories by teaching critical thinking skills in schools. Enjoy.
