Because of Your Political Beliefs, You Are Not Good at Math.
According to a 2013 Yale University study, when facts seem to contradict your political views, your brain will work so hard to defend your beliefs that you will be worse at math. And, surprisingly, the effect is stronger in people who are usually good at math.
Researchers at Yale University asked participants to solve math problems about a skin cream and rated their ability. They then replaced the terms skin cream with firearm control terms. Liberal members found it harder to validate a result that seemed to support weaker gun laws; Conservatives found it more difficult to cope with the opposite. Those who did the best with the question of skin cream did the worst with the question of firearms law.
This frightening phenomenon can at least help us empathize with our political opponents, says blogger K. Thor Jensen:
For me, this is a terrifying conclusion. The fact that doing mathematics – a discipline in which there should be very little ambiguity – can be tinged with my emotions and values casts doubt on the entire structure of the rational universe. But it also helps me understand people on the other side of the spectrum a little better.
This is not a new mental behavior; some scholars believe that people have developed reasoning not in order to logically analyze the world, but in order to win arguments . “Reasoning does not have this function of helping us strengthen beliefs and make better decisions,” Hugo Mercier told the New York Times . “It was a purely social phenomenon. It evolved to help us convince others and to be careful when others try to convince us. ” So we’re fortunate that we can ever look beyond our brains to discern facts.