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> You're still just as likely to let bias influence your actions, and you'll probably try to justify yourself as having good reasons for your biased actions. I

> You're still just as likely to let bias influence your actions, and you'll probably try to justify yourself as having good reasons for your biased actions. I really don't think everybody is equally biased. Some people at least try to use reason and science to guide their beliefs, why other will systematically deny all evidences. Also people who are aware of biases are more likely to recognize their errors when called out with logical arguments.

SamoyedFurFluff 4y ago
I’m a little confused by this because I don’t know if it’s possible to measure biases and proclaim that someone is more biased than the other. One of the things that comes to mind is that one person may have weakly held or strongly held bias (maybe differentiating being biased to being bigoted?). How do you compare multiple weakly held biases vs one very strongly held one? How do you count biases when you yourself are also biased and therefore will very likely undercount any biases aligning with your own?
naasking 4y ago
> why other will systematically deny all evidences Sure, but they also do so for specific reasons, like that considering evidence failed them in the past in some significant way. Possibly they just didn't do it right, but it's just incorrect to think people are the way they are for no logical reason.
- tired-turtle 4y ago
  A specific reason is not a logical reason; sure, the decision ‘made sense’ to that person at the time, but it’s irrational within the broader schema of life. (I think that’s what you meant?)
  - naasking 4y ago
    It might be "irrational" in some sense with unbounded knowledge, but we only have bounded knowledge. I'm not sure using the former as a definition of "rationality" is useful. Rationality should be a sort of preferential ordering of choices according to one's bounded knowledge.
boomboomsubban 4y ago
This sounds pretty close to a standard bias blind spot. Do you consider yourself more or less biased than the average person?
- yodsanklai 4y ago
  I didn't say that. From experience dealing with people, I just think that not everybody is equally biased. Just like not everybody is equally good at maths, music or sport.
  - boomboomsubban 4y ago
    You didn't specify what you do, but you clearly laid out what you see as the biased and the unbiased way. It's not that simple. Everyone thinks their decisions are based on reason, and most people will sometimes ignore evidence. Maybe some people are better at avoiding bias than others, but from my experience people will be better in some areas while still prone to it in other areas.

SamoyedFurFluff 4y ago

I’m a little confused by this because I don’t know if it’s possible to measure biases and proclaim that someone is more biased than the other. One of the things that comes to mind is that one person may have weakly held or strongly held bias (maybe differentiating being biased to being bigoted?). How do you compare multiple weakly held biases vs one very strongly held one? How do you count biases when you yourself are also biased and therefore will very likely undercount any biases aligning with your own?

naasking 4y ago

> why other will systematically deny all evidences Sure, but they also do so for specific reasons, like that considering evidence failed them in the past in some significant way. Possibly they just didn't do it right, but it's just incorrect to think people are the way they are for no logical reason.

tired-turtle 4y ago
A specific reason is not a logical reason; sure, the decision ‘made sense’ to that person at the time, but it’s irrational within the broader schema of life. (I think that’s what you meant?)
- naasking 4y ago
  It might be "irrational" in some sense with unbounded knowledge, but we only have bounded knowledge. I'm not sure using the former as a definition of "rationality" is useful. Rationality should be a sort of preferential ordering of choices according to one's bounded knowledge.

boomboomsubban 4y ago

This sounds pretty close to a standard bias blind spot. Do you consider yourself more or less biased than the average person?

yodsanklai 4y ago
I didn't say that. From experience dealing with people, I just think that not everybody is equally biased. Just like not everybody is equally good at maths, music or sport.
- boomboomsubban 4y ago
  You didn't specify what you do, but you clearly laid out what you see as the biased and the unbiased way. It's not that simple. Everyone thinks their decisions are based on reason, and most people will sometimes ignore evidence. Maybe some people are better at avoiding bias than others, but from my experience people will be better in some areas while still prone to it in other areas.