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I don’t think that’s right. We all make decisions with imperfect knowledge, but there are well-tested ways of improving the quality of those judgements. You see

by Veen 7y ago

I don’t think that’s right. We all make decisions with imperfect knowledge, but there are well-tested ways of improving the quality of those judgements. You seem to be arguing that because we can’t make perfect judgements we are therefore condemned to always make arbitrary judgements based on bias, a sophomoric skepticism that isn’t supported by real-world experiences.

SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
My concern is that, because someone BELIEVES they are using logic, education, and intelligence to come to a conclusion they may be just as wrong. "logic, education, and intelligence" is a way of justifying a belief, it's not a way of proving the assumption to be true. It's not a matter of being imperfect in judgement, it's a matter of being willing to accept that we are imperfect, and that, even if you think you're using the perfect method for rationalizing the world, it may not actually be.
ModernMech 7y ago
> You seem to be arguing that because we can’t make perfect judgements we are therefore condemned to always make arbitrary judgements based on bias Not arbitrary, I'm not arguing that. I am arguing that education and intelligence isn't enough to combat biases. A lot of people commenting here are touting education and intelligence as some sort of bias reducing (or eliminating) tool, which it can be, but as I've said elsewhere I know plenty of educated intelligent people who are slaves to their biases. Some of these people gained their biases through education, and they discount their biases because they believe they are too intelligent to have biases. What I think many people are missing here is that biases aren't something you educate away, they're something education helps you recognize and compensate for. Also I note your use of the phrase"perfect judgments" here. Perfect how? For whom? Under what criteria? There's no such thing as a "perfect judgment" without framing it in a context (i.e. using a bias). One person's perfect, logically sound, rational judgment might not be so for another person.
- deleted 7y ago
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by Veen 7y ago

SketchySeaBeast 7y ago

My concern is that, because someone BELIEVES they are using logic, education, and intelligence to come to a conclusion they may be just as wrong. "logic, education, and intelligence" is a way of justifying a belief, it's not a way of proving the assumption to be true. It's not a matter of being imperfect in judgement, it's a matter of being willing to accept that we are imperfect, and that, even if you think you're using the perfect method for rationalizing the world, it may not actually be.

ModernMech 7y ago

> You seem to be arguing that because we can’t make perfect judgements we are therefore condemned to always make arbitrary judgements based on bias Not arbitrary, I'm not arguing that. I am arguing that education and intelligence isn't enough to combat biases. A lot of people commenting here are touting education and intelligence as some sort of bias reducing (or eliminating) tool, which it can be, but as I've said elsewhere I know plenty of educated intelligent people who are slaves to their biases. Some of these people gained their biases through education, and they discount their biases because they believe they are too intelligent to have biases. What I think many people are missing here is that biases aren't something you educate away, they're something education helps you recognize and compensate for. Also I note your use of the phrase"perfect judgments" here. Perfect how? For whom? Under what criteria? There's no such thing as a "perfect judgment" without framing it in a context (i.e. using a bias). One person's perfect, logically sound, rational judgment might not be so for another person.

deleted 7y ago
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