"> The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—" Good post. From my experience, it's pretty easy to fool oneself (it's happened to me too many times

"> The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—" Good post. From my experience, it's pretty easy to fool oneself (it's happened to me too many times). It's very easy for one to have preconceived notions or ideas about something and as such it doesn't take much evidence if any for one to be convinced that one's ideas about them are correct even if factually they're to the contrary. Moreover, precovinced ideas and notions often stop one from reviewing existing evidence about them that one already has in one's possession. When one's without supporting evidence then the very nature of that preconception may stop one from seeking out new or additional information about them. Essentially, one's entrenched views that one hasn't come by through a process of substantial and rigorous thought one ought to always question. The trouble is it's easy to say that, to keep the notion ever present at the forefront of one's mind is damn hard.