4 ms·

> Isn't "unconscious bias" merely humans using their instinctual bayesian reasoning systems as priors? No, it's just tribal instincts against the 'other'; no p

> Isn't "unconscious bias" merely humans using their instinctual bayesian reasoning systems as priors? No, it's just tribal instincts against the 'other'; no prior experience is necessary; people will kill people from groups they have no expereince with because they are different. Consider homophobia: Is it because the attackers have experience being assaulted by gays? What about violence against women? (In fact, I think reality may be reverse of your theory: The same people are victimized over and over; the weak are abused by the powerful.) The solution is conceptually simple: Teach people to see the other groups as 'one of us'. It does happen over the long run; I read research that within a few generations, for example, new immigrant groups mostly inter-marry with others (arguably blacks became the equivalent of new immigrants when they finally had full legal rights in the 1960s, and racial intermarriage now is growing quickly). Consider Protestants and Catholics, who used to riot against each other. 55 years ago, a Catholic winning the Presidency was a big deal. Now nobody cares or notices; a Catholic marrying a Protestant is completely unremarkable. Rather than arbitrarily causing generations of suffering, we can learn to do better now.

hackuser 11y ago
Adding to my comment above (I'm too late to edit): In my experience, it's the poeple with the least experience with the 'other' group who are the most biased.
jquery 11y ago
> Teach people to see the other groups as 'one of us'. You're thinking in very surface terms and minimizing the argument of the opposition. What if the group values are utterly alien to the other group? For example, are people to be taught that the Crips gang is 'one of us.'? Or Neo-Nazis are 'one of us.'?
- hackuser 11y ago
  > What if the group values are utterly alien to the other group? For example, are people to be taught that the Crips gang is 'one of us.'? Or Neo-Nazis are 'one of us.'? Yes, and I think that's a great example. What enables people like Neo-Nazis to do horrible things to others is to first think of their victims as alien (to "objectify" them). This is well-known and long has been used by leaders that want to promote these horrible things; the original Nazis and the Hutus (just naming two off the top of my head) before their respective genocides, ran public media campaigns conditioning the public to objectify and despise Jewish/Tutsi people. In a very different context, soldiers often objectify their enemies as gooks, ragheads, etc. (again, it's a psychological necessity before a human does horrible things to others). You can see the same thing all the time in less dangerous situations, for example in how many male abusers talk about women. It's important to see that the Nazis aren't 'utterly alien', but normal humans like you and me (a very well-regarded, well-known book on this issue is Hannah Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil"). If we don't understand the reality of how people do bad things, we won't be able to prevent them. And the reality is that we all are prone to the same thinking and mistakes (though on a much smaller, less damaging scale, hopefully!). It's also important to realize that from the perspective of the perpetrators (including Nazis), they are doing nothing wrong: The victim is indeed alien and threatening (or otherwise deserving). Racists think that of blacks, for example.

hackuser 11y ago

Adding to my comment above (I'm too late to edit): In my experience, it's the poeple with the least experience with the 'other' group who are the most biased.

jquery 11y ago

> Teach people to see the other groups as 'one of us'. You're thinking in very surface terms and minimizing the argument of the opposition. What if the group values are utterly alien to the other group? For example, are people to be taught that the Crips gang is 'one of us.'? Or Neo-Nazis are 'one of us.'?

hackuser 11y ago
> What if the group values are utterly alien to the other group? For example, are people to be taught that the Crips gang is 'one of us.'? Or Neo-Nazis are 'one of us.'? Yes, and I think that's a great example. What enables people like Neo-Nazis to do horrible things to others is to first think of their victims as alien (to "objectify" them). This is well-known and long has been used by leaders that want to promote these horrible things; the original Nazis and the Hutus (just naming two off the top of my head) before their respective genocides, ran public media campaigns conditioning the public to objectify and despise Jewish/Tutsi people. In a very different context, soldiers often objectify their enemies as gooks, ragheads, etc. (again, it's a psychological necessity before a human does horrible things to others). You can see the same thing all the time in less dangerous situations, for example in how many male abusers talk about women. It's important to see that the Nazis aren't 'utterly alien', but normal humans like you and me (a very well-regarded, well-known book on this issue is Hannah Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil"). If we don't understand the reality of how people do bad things, we won't be able to prevent them. And the reality is that we all are prone to the same thinking and mistakes (though on a much smaller, less damaging scale, hopefully!). It's also important to realize that from the perspective of the perpetrators (including Nazis), they are doing nothing wrong: The victim is indeed alien and threatening (or otherwise deserving). Racists think that of blacks, for example.