Cognitive Bias
A discussion on cognitive biases
Human cognition is based on an amalgamation of experiences and the continuous reassessment of beliefs as we interpret these experiences. The precarious dilemma is that each experience is not unique in nature due to the bias that is inherently present from the interpretation of past experiences. This is due to the human brain’s necessity to attempt to compress information for the convenience of recall.
In other words (depending on your experiences), you are continuously viewing the world through a lens that is filtering out “colors” due to the biases built up over time to develop what you believe is the “full picture”. Now let’s throw in the fact that naturally, we feel comfortable adding new filters to this lens without logical dissection. Mostly, to feel like we can relate to the people around us or to feel like we “belong”.
“You should take the approach that you’re wrong. Your goal is to be less wrong.” — Elon Musk
There are many fallacies and cognitive biases that are programmed into our brains over time. It is essential to be mindful of these and recognize that all of us have them. Some of these are well defined: The fallacy of the undistributed middle, ad hominem fallacy, appeal to consequences, appeal to emotion, false dichotomy, the post hoc fallacy, consistency bias, gambler’s fallacy, availability bias, primacy bias, frequency bias, recency bias, and the endowment effect (just to name a few).
There is also one for anyone who is reading this and thinking to themselves, “I don’t think I have that one”. This is called the bias blind spot which refers to the tendency to believe one is immune to the same biases that plague others.
Your belief system is a conglomerate of all these fallacies and biases that can lead to a massively warped worldview. We won’t get too political here but the end result is the complete eradication of a logical exchange of ideas and the heavy influence of emotion as it pertains to these ideas. This is primarily due to the fact that many identify themselves through their belief system, which is apparently “the truth” because “a lot of other people stand by it”. Not to mention the complete disregard for any other view than the one you “subscribe” to is a dangerous environment to live in, in every sense. If ideas are unable to be challenged in a rational and/or logical manner, it leads to extreme levels of segregation and hostility.
Let’s pivot to the first step to overcoming the aforementioned cognitive biases. The only way to approach a problem is to first familiarize yourself with it. The goal is to learn about all the most common biases found in the human brain.
However, being aware of the biases is a far cry from being immune to them. The most difficult step comes next. Building a habit of noticing situations that trigger the biases that you are most amenable to. This will require a high level of mindfulness, consistency, and constant reiteration.
This is a fairly elaborate and lengthy discussion that I hope to continue to touch upon in the future. However, if you really feel like getting in the weeds on this subject, I would suggest reading “Designing The Mind — The Principles of Psychitecture” by Ryan A. Bush.
Final thoughts:
Think twice before idolizing ideologies and ideas pushed by collectives and/or organizations.
It is essential to learn to establish a unique viewpoint using logical reasoning that is separated from bias and fallacies.
In order to establish a sound thought process it is imperative to learn about cognitive biases, continuously work on recognizing them, and work to decrease their impact on your decision-making (and interpretation) skills.
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