Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency to accept only information supporting what you already believe, while ignoring or discounting evidence against it.

In investing it intensifies the moment you buy. Good news registers while bad news gets interpreted as temporary — because money is committed and you want your judgement vindicated.

Algorithms amplify it. Being shown more of what you clicked means the opportunity to encounter an opposing view gradually disappears altogether.

The result is dangerous conviction. It feels like you have consumed a great deal of information, but you have mostly seen the same story repeatedly — repetition has grown, not evidence.

The remedy is deliberately seeking the opposing case. Writing down why this company might fail before buying forces judgement based on evidence rather than conviction. Keeping an investment journal helps as well. Writing down your reasoning at purchase lets you check later whether it still holds, and prevents memory being rewritten after the fact.