A free and responsible search for truth and meaning
not as easy as it sounds
Ref. Page Getty: …. “not to be isolated and self-centered, believing that our single perspective trumps all others, but rather to be humble” ….
information overload
“Between the dawn of civilization through 2003 about 5 exabytes of information was created. Now, that much information created every 2 days” (Eric Schmidt – former Google CEO)
cognitive biases and heuristics
Our brains use shortcuts to quickly make sense of complex information. This provides a net survival benefit to our species, but sacrifices accuracy for speed and conservation of brain resources. Cognitive biases and heuristics lead to systematic, predictable distortions of reality, and are frequently utilized by ‘persuaders’ such as marketers and politicians.
Availability cascade A self-reinforcing process in which a collective belief gains more and more plausibility through its increasing repetition in public discourse (or "repeat something long enough and it will become true").[17]
Backfire effect The reaction to disconfirming evidence by strengthening one's previous beliefs.
Bandwagon effect The tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. Related to groupthink and herd behavior.[19]
Bias blind spot The tendency to see oneself as less biased than other people, or to be able to identify more cognitive biases in others than in oneself.[22]
Confirmation bias The tendency to search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions.[25]
Conservatism The tendency to revise one's belief insufficiently when presented with new evidence.
Distinction bias The tendency to view two options as more dissimilar when evaluating them simultaneously than when evaluating them separately.
Illusory correlation Inaccurately perceiving a relationship between two unrelated events.[51][52]
Illusory truth effect A tendency to believe that a statement is true if it is easier to process, or if it has been stated multiple times, regardless of its actual veracity
Mere exposure effect The tendency to express undue liking for things merely because of familiarity with them.[56]
Negativity bias or Negativity effect Psychological phenomenon by which humans have a greater recall of unpleasant memories compared with positive memories.[58]
Normalcy bias The refusal to plan for, or react to, a disaster which has never happened before.
Outcome bias The tendency to judge a decision by its eventual outcome instead of based on the quality of the decision at the time it was made.
Reactive devaluation Devaluing proposals only because they purportedly originated with an adversary.
Rhyme as reason effect Rhyming statements are perceived as more truthful. A famous example being used in the O.J Simpson trial with the defense's use of the phrase "If the gloves don't fit, then you must acquit."
Third-person effect Belief that mass communicated media messages have a greater effect on others than on themselves.
Well-travelled road effect Underestimation of the duration taken to traverse oft-traveled routes and overestimation of the duration taken to traverse less familiar routes.
Zero-risk bias Preference for reducing a small risk to zero over a greater reduction in a larger risk.
challenge:
ask someone to explain their reasons for a belief that challenges yours, and really listen to their answer
It is exhausting
It can feel treasonous
It can feel like losing one’s reality
Quotation by Siddhãrtha Gautama (Buddha)
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions simply because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.