Make Your Bias Work for You

We're taught to think that 'bias' is automatically a bad thing, but everything depends on what sort of bias it is. There might be bias towards wisdom, self-understanding, tolerance and kindness - in other words, bias worth valuing.

FURTHER READING

“A presumption among many thoughtful people is that the great enemy of a good life and a decent world is something called ‘bias’. By bias, people have come to understand a twisting of the facts towards dark and entirely nefarious ends. According to this interpretation, bias is invariably and necessarily bad. In some quarters, the word has simply grown synonymous with evil…”

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CREDITS
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Rivulet Studio

[geoffsmith]

I love it when the SOL makes a video that gets us all going. This is my fave video for a while, and I like them all. I for one would welcome a media that is more open about its biases: political commentators that are open about the way they vote, artists and celebrities able to be open about the opinions they hold, and a public (like me) who can recognise that bias is everywhere but be prepared to consider and empirically (or logically) reject texts that may come from a bias that is not our own.

[Mnogojazyk]

When I was studying for my doctorate, one of the harshest things I learned was that despite the claim that the discipline was unbiased, it was a problem if you disagreed against prevailing theory or, God help you, you found fault with it. The academy was almost like a religious education camp. If you weren't a true believer or had doubts, you were subject to ridicule and other attacks. I was witness to attacks by one professor in particular, and they were nasty.

As a result of this experience, I do not have a problem with other persons' biases, per se. I may have a problem with them, but those are my problems not those of anyone else. Everyone's biases, it seems to me, are the result of their experience and their ideologies. If I want my biases to be respected, I have to respect those of other persons.

I must admit to one thing that troubles me about biases: when people take up arms and other attacks against the people who disagree with them. Then there is a real problem that cannot be ignored or dismissed.

[msraynaday]

something wrong with the speed of this video. a few seconds in it voice goes 3x as fast and i can’t understand.

[hamfood]

I remember Noam Chomsky emailed me once mentioning, "everyone has an agenda; me too. Some wear it on their sleeves, as not to delude anyone. Others, well..."
Sending you all love

[Hyperions]

Hope everyone is having an awesome day!

[batguano]

I always respect someone a lot more when they can admit they're biased, because then even if I don't agree with them I at least know they have some sense for humility and self-awareness... and if I do agree with them it ends up being a healthy reminder of my own values as a reflection of theirs. The negative connotation of bias is due to its connection to deceit, and as you mentioned in the video the main deceit being that of claiming neutrality when it's so fucking obvious there's an agenda being pushed.

That being said if you're paying attention everyone is biased, because everyone has priorities... and even if the person or organization you're listening to won't remind you, you can (and really should) remind yourself.

[iAmTheSquidThing]

It's impossible to be completely unbiased. People will always have a perspective. But you should acknowledge it. Too many people and publications present their work as journalism, when their real priority is activism.

[robertbethell]

I'm confused! I probably missed something but how does one decided what is 'good bias'? Or good values? Surely a media producer that at least tries to be balanced, however impossible, is better than propaganda?

Also. What about the facts from social science or psychology or biology? Surely they point to some truths about how we should live or set up systems?

[Grachtnakk]

I've always though of bias as:
I don't think something is good just because I like it, instead I like something because it is good.

[macronencer]

I'm writing fiction, and you are spot on about values. They are an important part of character-driven stories, and there's a good reason for that: they are also an important part of people-driven societies, as you point out.

[DeviantFish]

Interesting video! However, I think it commits an error. Here, you seem to be referring to bias as the feelings we have towards things when facts aren't available. While more commonly, bias favors certain views or positions despite the best available evidence pointing to the contrary.

Just as you, quite rightly, point out we should avoid black and white extreme distinctions of bias, we should also avoid such distinctions between evidence and no evidence. Facts are not the only available evidence to us. We can use logic and reason, in a systematic way, to attain the highest probability to achieving the best possible outcome. This is not the "certainty" you speak of in the beginning of the video, but it is far better than embracing your own bias, whether in a high form or low, as this necessarily involves ignoring valid reason and evidence in favor what our own flawed preconceptions have led us to believe.

[guersomfalcon]

We could say the same for science before newton discover the laws of physics , not having the answers now does not mean that we will never have them

[nocuh]

"So what you're saying is, confirmation-bias not only proves me 200% correct but an exceptional individual once again!"

[nicktsangaris]

I don't know if this happened to anybody else, but the entire video sounded like a demonic summoning the first time I played it 😧

[normbabbitt]

This talk is spot on! This is what I have come to learn. So much of what I hold dear originates from my own temperament and experience. This truth about clarity of bias helps me to be open to others' perspectives and biases. I am so appreciative now of communication and mutual conversations between those with differing views. This is how we learn, expand and mature.

[avan]

The threat comes not from having a bias, but from the inability or unwillingness to acknowledge and account for its presence.

[Chidds]

We all have biased views. This video is a great demonstration of bias. I disagree there are "good" biases. In my view, there is just bias, something we should all work towards recognising within ourselves. It is the first step to enable constructive dialogue between different biases.

[Wildlon]

This was quite the eye opener. I have for a long time been one of those news bias haters, and honestly because I do science, it's hard to regard anything mildly lacking in facts or presenting them with an agenda as good. Yet the point made here is a valid one.

[DK]

I think the video confused a lot of people but I'm glad this channel made the effort to address the issue of Fake News. The point of the video is to remind us to keep an open conversation.

[victorlevoso]

Adding to my other comment values!=bias, factual and value questions are different, and of course if you use the word bias for a category that includes values and preferences you will think that people who are using the word differently are wrong on thinking the thing called bias is bad.