Overcoming Bias

 Having looked at the question of rationality and belief in my last post, I wanted to further explore our often quirky psychology and how it is we understand the world around us, taking a look at the issue of bias.

 Human history can be viewed in many ways, but almost inevitably it is the eye of the beholder that ends up colouring the picture. Sometimes consciously, sometimes not, we subtly push events into focus that support pre-existing beliefs or desires, while glossing over events that do not. The interpretation of events, such as in the study of history, provides ample opportunity for bias to display itself most clearly, but it can show up in even the most rigorous sciences, as it is simply an unfortunate part of our psychological makeup. Bias is, and has always been, a huge factor in how we build our general understanding of the world, but paradoxically, when allowed to run unchecked, it inevitably prevents us from attaining any refined and objective understanding of the world. In such cases, we do not see the world as it is; we see it as we want it to be. This extends beyond the individual level, all the way up throughout human institutions, affecting the policies of governments, corporations and every form of social organization. It could fairly be said that many social groups coalesce in large part because of their shared biases and prejudices, the Klu Klux Klan being a glaring example of how this aspect of our psychology can lead us down some very ugly paths. The good news is that we can at least take steps to minimalize this, but the bad news is that we can only do so once we first acknowledge it within ourselves, a step that many people are unwilling to take.

 Bias is ingrained on our consciousness for the same reason that many of our other psychological traits are – it either served a useful purpose at some point in our evolutionary development, or perhaps still does in certain circumstances. It has been observed that bias, or prejudice as it is called when applied to people, is a way of simplifying our world, and I tend to agree with this view. We do, after all, live in a very complex world, and especially for the young it is difficult to interpret all the subtle nuances, and the exceptions that inevitably crop up the moment any rule is formulated. Seeing the world in black and white is much easier than seeing it in infinite and interconnected shades of grey, but there is, of course, a trade-off in taking a simplified view. Much information slips through the cracks when utilizing a simplified framework through which to view the world, and as such, one sits at a great disadvantage when doing so. A nuanced world-view, taking in a variety of perspectives, allows for much more balanced and far-seeing decision making, which demonstrably leads to more desirable outcomes whenever it is tried. Thus bias is perhaps useful for us to a point, but it is a trade-off that we cannot afford to indulge in as adults, or as a society in general.

 Our species currently sits at a delicate crossroads in our evolution. We have, over the past few thousand years, emerged from a largely barbaric past into a present that is marked by knowledge and enlightenment unheard of in any other era. We have done this because we have painstakingly worked to increase our understanding of the universe, and to overcome our animal instincts - the lowly aggression and lack of rationality that constantly threaten to erode what little progress we have made. Having come this far, we have also learned much about ourselves. We now understand ourselves better than ever, and more importantly, our own weaknesses. The choice we face now is whether to use this knowledge to our advantage, or to remain stagnant, forever at the mercy of our primate brains. We can combat our more base instincts - there are those, like Buddhist monks, who do it all the time - and like any skill, it does become easier with time and practice. The rewards are already tangible in the first world – better education, better healthcare, better technological solutions to previously intractable problems, a more peaceful society, and a greater quality of life with every generation. The developing world can see the same benefits, and the developed world can see them to a greater degree, but we must be willing to honestly admit and genuinely strive to overcome our human foibles, bias featuring very prominently among them.

 On a fundamental level, human institutions and societies are simply our individual tendencies writ large, and how we think as individuals impacts how we act, how we vote, and how we go about the process of increasing human well-being. Education has done much to improve the quality of life in many countries over the past few centuries, as a more knowledgeable population tends to craft wiser policies, which in turn strengthens institutions. As we go further and learn to overcome our prejudices and the weaknesses in our reasoning, our institutions and society in general can only stand to benefit – rational traditions have, after all, been the hallmark of the greatest civilizations on Earth so far, from the Classical Greeks to the flowering of the Renaissance. Cultivating this widespread “grassroots rationalism”, although beneficial, has traditionally been a difficult task in human societies, but I believe that we have reached a turning point in this struggle. The availability of information and the ease with which we can communicate it are eroding our biases and superstitions, but by understanding our own cognitive processes and using the right logical tools in approaching everyday problems, we can further facilitate this process.

 In the end, overcoming bias is not a problem that can be solved by legislation or any “top-down” means, although this can be effective in addressing its symptoms. It is a problem of perception, one that can be solved most effectively by shifting attitudes through education and conversation. In making ourselves aware of our own biases, we can, for the most part, filter them out. Further, by becoming more aware of how bias can influence the viewpoints of those around us, we can begin to call people out on them more effectively. Our basic psychological toolkit is what it is, and won't change drastically anytime soon, but we owe it to ourselves to sharpen these tools at every opportunity if we want to improve ourselves, and the world around us.