The Bias Bias Trap
I have noticed this affliction which, in my view, seems to affect even the most intelligent and perspicacious of persons, which I call:
The Bias Bias Trap
To get right to it, and make it super easy, consider that you and I are arguing about something important; say, it is Climate Change. I say it is a hoax and you say it will destroy humanity if not dealt with.
To be clear as an aside – at least in this article I am not rendering thoughts on Climate Change. That would be in The Bruce Political Project. To continue….
I work for an oil company. And you don’t.
I give my opinion on the issue, bolstered by whatever facts, data, thoughts, reasoning, etc. that I can muster.
You say – quite obviously, conveniently and even easily – that since I work for an oil company I am biased.
Then you commit a huge intellectual error; namely, you dismiss my opinion and reasoning because I am biased.
But that itself is what I call falling into the Bias Bias Trap.
The essence of the Bias Bias Trap is that you should acknowledge a very simple fact which is that just because I am biased does not mean I am wrong.
Indeed, it might even be the direct opposite and I might be even more likely to be correct.
To be even more provocative, it would be pretty unlikely for anyone to become an expert in just about anything without developing some biases. How would you get this expertise? It would be from someone or some institution as a starting point.
Also, consider where biases come from in the first place.
To illustrate with a semi-dumb example might be that I am wondering whether to wear sunscreen in the sun. I hear from the company that sells sunscreen that wearing sunscreen will protect me against skin cancer. Are they biased? Of course they are – after all, they are selling sunscreen. But they still are likely to know more about whether sunscreen protects against skin cancer than I do. Aren’t they? Just because they say wear sunscreen in the sun – and they are biased – they might still be right.
Interestingly, I think – but could not prove – that the more intelligent and perceptive you are, the more susceptible you are to the Bias Bias Trap. This is because you are more able to perceive these biases in other persons and then leap to an Aha Moment, thinking: Aha, I have found a bias in the other person’s thinking, and therefore I inadvertently make an intellectual leap and fall into the Bias Bias Trap.
So where does this leave us in our search for truth?
I think it is pretty simple. We should look for biases from those who give opinions – of course we should do that – but we should be careful not to fall into the Bias Bias Trap and discard what they say just for the reason that they are biased.
As a last – and kind of annoying – thought, I suggest that if you fall into the Bias Bias Trap regarding an issue of contention, there is a likelihood that you yourself have some biases in the opposite direction.
Q.E.D.