What is True On Average For a Group Isn’t Always True for Its Members Fact
What is true for members of a group on average isn’t always true for individuals in those groups.
Bias
Bias is a prejudice for or against. In broad terms we can think of our entire neurology as a system of hardwired and softwired bias. Given this, it is vital to understand that bias isn’t “a bad thing” and is rather an integral part of our cognitive process.
Factoids tagged with "Bias"
There is No Such Thing as Objective Truth Myth
The idea that all truth is subjective, that there is no objective truth, is a myth. Everything either has an absolute truth value (even if we can’t know it) or is an opinion or belief.
The Civil War was About Slavery Fact
The Civil war was about slavery, but it wasn’t “just about slavery”. Sectionalism, Protectionism, and States’ Rights were also factors.
Wage Slavery and Chattel Slavery are Different Fact
Wage slavery (where an entity’s livelihood depends on wages or a salary) and actual “chattel” slavery (where an entity is enslaved by another entity) are very different.
The Democrats were the Party of the Ku Klux Klan and Slavery Fact
The KKK and slavery both have their roots in the Democratic party. However, the southern bloc conservatives (“the solid south”) have increasingly favored the Republican party over time. Thus, today the faction who once supported the KKK and slavery now mostly supports the Republican Party.
The Founding Fathers Supported Slavery Myth
Slavery was legal when America was founded, but few founding fathers fully supported the nefarious institution. In fact, many founders fought to limit and abolish slavery.
The U.S. Has the Highest Incarceration Rate in the World Fact
The United States has the world’s highest incarceration rate and hosts more prison inmates than all other developed nations combined.
Athletes Can Determine their Own Sex in International Sports Fact
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that athletes can determine their own sex in international sports like the Olympics.
The Second Amendment Was Ratified to Preserve Slavery Myth
Some claim the Second Amendment, like the Three-Fifths Compromise, was ratified to preserve slavery. This is only partially true.
What is Correct Behavior in One Group, Might not be in Another Fact
What is acceptable (aka politically correct) depends on your environment, intention, tone, and the group you belong to. What is acceptable in one group, might not be in another.
The More You Do Something, the More You Value it Fact
The more time and energy you put into something, the more you value it. This Escalation of Commitment phenomenon (or commitment bias) relates to a number of other decision making biases.
Being Gay Used to Be Illegal Fact
“Being gay” (same-sex activity and partnership) used to be illegal in the U.S. and the U.K., and being gay is still illegal in many parts of the world. The details are complex.
10,000 Hours of Practice Makes Perfect Myth
The “10,000 hours theory”, that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an “outlier”, is a useful concept, but not an exact rule.
On Average, People Naturally Obey Authority Fact
The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures (and related studies) show that, on average and under the right conditions, people will obey authority figures despite moral objections.
Black Lives Matter is a Movement Fact
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a social movement that began as a stand against racial violence and discrimination toward black people by the US criminal justice system.
Being Equal Means Having Equivalent Value Fact
The term ‘equal’ can mean ‘identical’, but more-so it describes “equivalence.” For example, social equality describes equity, not “exact the sameness.”
People Can be Truly Unbiased Myth
People can’t be truly unbiased; we are hardwired with bias and create bias constantly as part of the natural neurological process of learning.
Men Can’t Be Feminists Myth
It’s a myth that men can’t be feminists. Anyone including men can be a feminist, because feminism is simply a belief in the equality of sexes.
Survival of the Fittest, Only the Strong Survive Myth
“Survival of the fittest” means that those who are best adapted to their environment thrive and tend to be favored by evolution due to “natural selection”. It does not mean that “only the most physically strong or mentally strong thrive”.
Perceived Value Can Matter More Than Actual Value Fact
The amount of social, economic, or other value we perceive a person, place, or thing to have affects our perception of it (often more than actual value).
The Average Human Has an Accurate Memory Myth
The average human has a limited short-term memory and a fairly inaccurate long-term memory. This is due to the way we process, encode, and recall memories.
People Can Multitask Effectively Myth
People can’t multitask effectively. Giving simultaneous attention to tasks, or alternating and dividing attention between tasks, reduces the performance of at least one task.
Thoughts Can “Rewire” Your Brain Fact
Thoughts and other stimuli can essentially “rewire” our brain, strengthening useful synaptic pathways and weakening less used ones, this is called neuroplasticity (AKA learning and memory).
Past Outcomes of Random Events Affect Future Outcomes Myth
Past results of random independent events, like a coin flip, don’t affect future results. The mistaken belief that past results affect future results is known as “the Gambler’s Fallacy” (AKA the Fallacy of the Maturity of Chances, or the Monte Carlo Fallacy).
A Sports Jacket Improves Your Appearance Fact
Generally speaking, a sports jacket (blazer or suit jacket), improves your appearance in terms of people’s perception of you, and your perception of yourself.
Computers Can Generate True Random Numbers Fact
Computers can’t generate truly random numbers in the purest sense with software alone. However, computers can generate truly random numbers with the help of natural random events.
Blog Posts tagged with "Bias"
The Dunning–Kruger Effect
The Dunning–Kruger effect is when people over-estimate their competence in something due to a lack of experience in that thing.
Sometimes People Get Upset With Us for Not Validating Their Conspiracy Theories
As an independent fact-checking site we fact-check a range of touchy subjects… and sometimes people get upset with us for not validating their conspiracy theories.
Should We Dismiss a Source Due to Some of Its Content?
I would argue that most sources of information and any information they contain should not be dismissed due our thoughts on them in general or a portion of their content. Instead, I would argue that any source is capable of presenting good and useful information, even if they typically don’t.
Types of Propaganda, Propaganda Techniques, and Propaganda Strategies
We present a list of types of propaganda, propaganda techniques, and propaganda strategies used to manipulate public opinion in the modern day.
The Different Types of Reasoning Methods Explained and Compared
We explain and compare the different types of reasoning methods including deductive, inductive, abductive, analogical, and fallacious reasoning.
Confirmation Bias, Ideological Bubbles, Reference Frames, and Filters
We explain how experience and social interactions shape our frame of reference and create ideological bubbles, and how this creates confirmation bias and “bubble filters” that reinforce these bubbles.
Racial Codes and Dog-Whistle Politics
We discuss racial code words and “dog-whistle politics,” terms that describe the code words politicians use to imply politically incorrect ideas to their base.
Understanding Explicit Bias and Implicit Bias
Explicit bias is conscious bias, implicit bias is subconscious bias. Everyone has natural implicit and explicit bias, it’s part of being human and what shapes our actions and attitudes.
The Bed of Nails Principle
The bed of nails principle states that while laying on one nail is enough to puncture a person’s skin, laying on many distributed nails isn’t.
Tolerance Paradoxes Explained
We explain paradoxes related to tolerance and Politically Correctness (PC), including “the paradox of tolerance” and “tolerance as a form of intolerance.”
What Does “Politically Correct” Mean?
Political Correctness (politically correct or PC), describes how much tolerance, sensitivity, censorship, and freedom of expression “is correct” in a given setting.
What is a Useful Idiot?
“Useful Idiot” is a political insult that describes a person who, through manipulation or not, is useful to a political cause that is not their own despite not fully realizing their role.
In-groups and Out-groups Explained
An “in-group” is a group you are part of (genetically, culturally, or ideologically), while an “out-group” is a group you aren’t part of.
The Left-Right Political Spectrum Explained
The left-right political spectrum is used to create a model that shows a spectrum of political positions. Traditionally there is a 2-axis spectrum of left and right, but there are also many widely adopted 4-axis model.