How does the author’s discussion of choice blindness contribute to the text? Democrat: "Those arguments by Republicans are preposterous!" Republican: "Those arguments by Democrats are absurd!" Sound familiar? There are plenty of reasons why political disputes can be divisive,1 and a host of psychological mechanisms that contribute to a preference for one's own views. For one thing, political preferences aren't just reasoned opinions; they're often markers of personal and cultural identity with strong emotional resonance.2 For another, we tend to expose ourselves to sources that support our own views, reinforcing rather than challenging our beliefs. An article forthcoming in the journal Cognitive Science3 adds another mechanism into the mix: We're more critical of arguments offered by others than of those we produce ourselves. Authors Emmanuel Trouche, Petter Johansson, Lars Hall and Hugo Mercier describe this as the "selective laziness of reasoning." We reserve effortful s