Hindsight Is Not 20/20 — The Hindsight Fallacy

We seldom see things in a clear light until after they have occurred. However, the way we recall events may not be accurate. Our brains fill in the blanks of our memory with what we think happened.

Memory is not like a video recorder; it is malleable and can be changed by what we hear, see or think about after an event occurs. The problem with false memories is that they are often just as vivid and convincing as genuine memories, making them difficult to distinguish from the truth.

Our false memories are constructed by overemphasizing those bits of information that confirm our beliefs and forgetting or downplaying information that contradicts them.

This confirmation bias means that we are very good at rationalizing the outcomes of our decisions and predictions. We then try to validate this by evoking the false belief that hindsight is 20/20.

Hindsight is not 20/20 because our memories are tinted by what we want to believe happened.

20/20 Hindsight

The term “hindsight is 20/20” is often used to describe the phenomenon of being able to see things more clearly after they have happened. This phrase is derived from the idea that our vision is usually better when looking backward than forwards.