Our Mind’s Antivirus Programme: Situational Awareness (4) Visual Media and Confirmation Bias

Visual and print media, among the means of communication that form the starting point of our article, are one of the places where we can get the most effective results with the mechanism of situational awareness. Suppose, for example, that we have TV channels A, B and C and newspapers X, Y and Z before us. Let us start by drawing separate reference mental pictures of these channels and newspapers. We will see that in fact there are not 6 pictures before us but only one. This means that the command headquarters of all of them is in the same place. Our level of awareness rises, and we move from a loose level of awareness to a focused level of awareness.

In the subsequent stages, we watch not with astonishment but with great attention as these outlets, despite being at very different ends of the ideological spectrum, follow the same “pattern” (plot, mode of action). We observe, as a lesson, how they move in synchronised fashion towards the same goal, even though the subjects and terminology differ. The only benefit of situational awareness is not to catch extraordinary situations and act proactively. Another benefit is that it helps us answer the question “What is next?”.

Let danger signals about the outlets in our example begin to appear on our radar. As in the example at the start, we notice that, curiously, they are carrying an off-agenda or extraordinary subject to the headlines and insistently hyping it. The “checklist” we have built in line with the mental picture in our minds points to the existence of an important event that someone wants to keep from public attention.

In the final stage, narrowing the field, we try to find with pinpoint accuracy the epicentre of what is meant to be hidden. In this example, through the situational awareness process we carried out, we had the chance to see within a “single picture” a structure serving the same purpose in different colours and shapes, and the propaganda operations it carries out. Sometimes you do not need to be a medium to know what will happen next. A trained mind and effective concentration often give important information about the next move.

Right after the examples described, it is worth underlining one of the dangers that can short-circuit the situational awareness process. One of the errors the human mind produces is the phenomenon of “CONFIRMATION BIAS”. “Confirmation bias is the tendency of people to favour, take into account and highlight information that supports or confirms their own beliefs, thoughts and assumptions. People with this bias tend to neglect and ignore information that runs counter to, opposes or contradicts their beliefs, thoughts and assumptions.” This is a tendency inherent in human nature.

Confirmation bias causes giant magnets of different colours to be produced in our heads. These magnets attract only data of their own colour. Whatever colour your magnet is, your mind begins to be painted in that colour. Note this, please: What shapes your magnets is, again, the sum of everything you observe, read, listen to and are interested in. In short, for situational awareness to work at high performance, the basic condition is that it be nourished healthily in the mental realm (free of disinformation) and in a balanced way (varied across a very wide spectrum, broadening the horizon).

Noticing matters. Important people we all know well also wrote their names in history in golden letters by “noticing”, as a result of their deep observations, gravity, buoyancy and electricity, which had existed since the very beginning of human history.  The human mind must be disciplined in various fields. Because only in this way can it make the best use of its potential and produce fine, correct results. Situational awareness is an important discipline that rescues us from sleepy eyes and broadens our perspective. Everyone usually wonders what is really going on behind the curtain. When we understand what is happening before our eyes and begin to read it fully, we will learn that what lies behind the curtain is in fact not very different from what is in front of us.