According to the dictionary, the word bias simply means a preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment. For example, you might have a favorable impression of the teaching profession because your mother and wife are both in that field.  Or, you might asked to be excused from participating as a juror given your bias against cops following a bad experience you had with a security guard at your school. Confirmation bias, moreover, is the tendency to search for, favor, interpret, and remember information in such a way as to confirm one's preexisting hypotheses or beliefs, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities. The perfect example? Politics. Democratic voters tend to get their information from liberal-leaning networks like CNN and MSNBC while Republicans opt for conservative channels like Fox News.  Indeed, we trust and recall information that fits in with our existing world view while discounting information...

In a press conference last week, President-elect Donald Trump refused to take a question from a CNN correspondent, proceeding to call the network "fake news." The testy exchange came on the heels of CNN reporting that intelligence officials had briefed Trump on an unverified dossier alleging that the Russian government was in possession of compromising information about him. But the sourcing on the 35-page document is unclear and probably unverifiable. CNN reported that it is based chiefly on memos gathered by a former British intelligence operative that were meant as opposition research into Trump. In typical Trump fashion, he took Twitter shortly thereafter and blasted the report, tweeting, "FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!" While the jury is still out on the report, one thing is for certain: Cable news has become increasingly biased over time. Whether you're watching CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC, every cable news network slants left or right, ...

One of my favorite memes on the internet includes a picture of Abraham Lincoln alongside this quote attributed to him: "Don't believe everything you read on the internet just because there's a picture with a quote next to it." - Abraham L incoln What's funny is that the internet wasn't invented until more than a hundred years after Lincoln's death, so there's no possible way the 16th president could have said the above. In other words, even a quote about the perils of reading too much into something you read on the internet can itself be misattributed and thus prove sketchy.  I've lost count of the times I've come across news of a dubious nature on Facebook. For example, every so often a Facebook friend posts an article about a celebrity death that later turns out to be a hoax. Just the other day, a media company I'm following on Facebook posted an article alleging President Obama said he'd refuse to allow Donald Trump be...

...raise your hand. Did you raise it?  I sure did. Between incessant mudslinging, accusations of groping, email controversies, and non-stop coverage of every little thing Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton say and do, I've just about had it. Thankfully, we're less than two weeks away from the end of it all. This is an election year unlike any we've seen before. It has felt more like reality television than anything else, and I think we can all agree that Donald Trump has had a lot to do with that. Still, most people find neither candidate likable or trustworthy. It seems their aim is merely to vote for the person they hate the least -- the lesser of two evils, if you will. I want to go back to the time where I could tune into CNN or Fox News and see at least a few stories peppered in about the economy, a breakthrough innovation, or something significant happening around the world. I suppose Trump and Hillary bring in the ratings, and that's why they get so...

The stage is set.  Drama and nail-biting anticipation fill the air. Can you feel it? The first presidential debate tonight between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, promises to be a doozy. It's expected to be the most-watched debate ever, with 80-100 million viewers tuning in. Not since the showdown between President Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in 1980 have so many Americans watched a presidential debate on TV. Many are wondering which Donald Trump will show up: the more subdued candidate we've seen the last couple of weeks, or the no-holds-barred, anything goes version of him who lit into his Republican contenders during the primaries. The same goes for Hillary Clinton: Will we see the lawyerly policy wonk we've grown accustomed to over the years, or a more relaxed, less rigid Hillary who attempts to make a connection with voters? Trump has said that if Hillary treats him with respect, he'll do the same in kin...

I am so sick and tired of this blowhard. This egomaniac. This pathological liar. And it has nothing to do with his positions on the issues that matter most to the American people, from the economy to foreign affairs, which he fails to elaborate on regardless. I've just grown weary of seeing and hearing him every time I tune into Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and virtually every other news outlet. These stations are having a field day with this guy. They're ostensibly willing to give him all the exposure he craves in return for a ratings boost. He's nothing short of ubiquitous. They mention him on everything from awards shows like The Oscars to Saturday Night Live. And more likely than not, you've heard someone at work or at the local grocery store chatting about Trump. If we're sick of him now, the thought of seeing him in the Oval Office for four long years no doubt sends chills down our spine. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've never seen the medi...