Why we find support for what we already believe

Once an explanation comes to mind, it can guide the questions we ask and the information we notice. This is often useful: a possible explanation gives an investigation a starting point. It becomes a problem when the search mainly protects the explanation from challenge.

Confirmation bias is a tendency to seek, interpret, or remember information in ways that favor an existing belief or hypothesis. It can occur without a deliberate intention to mislead.

The aim is not to reject your first idea automatically. It is to give the idea a fair opportunity to fail as well as succeed.