When learning becomes impossible

Abstract

We formally analyze an epistemic bias we call interpretive blindness (IB), in which under certain conditions a learner will be incapable of learning. IB is now common in our society, but it is a natural consequence of Bayesian inference and what we argue are mild assumptions about the relation between belief and evidence. IB a special problem for learning from testimony, in which one acquires information only from text or conversation. We show that IB follows from a codependence between background beliefs and interpretation in a Bayesian setting and the nature of contemporary testimony. We argue that a particular characteristic of contemporary testimony, argumentative completeness, can preclude learning in hierarchical Bayesian settings, even in the presence of constraints that are designed to promote good epistemic practices.