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Guide to cognitive biases

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Re: Guide to cognitive biases

#41

Post by 411111111111111 »

magila wrote: post #32
Uehreka wrote: post #18

When I see someone on Facebook/Twitter link to a site like this to demonstrate that the person they’re arguing with is “doing a fallacy”, I just accuse them of Appeal To Authority. I feel like these kinds of sites are often just used to shut someone down by saying that they’re doing something wrong, without actually going through the work of following through with why the “fallacy” makes their argument weak. Also, in…

IME cognitive bias has become a popular talking point among the left which is used to dismiss those who disagree with them. I.e. if you don't buy into identity politics and other "woke" views it's because you are succumbing to cognitive biases.

People increasingly argue with fallacies, so it shouldn't come at a surprise that the frequency in which they're pointed out increases as well.

Public discord really has taken a nosedive and I'm surprised you seem to be okay with people using fallacies to strengthen points. Their points might even be correct, but reflection gets increasingly harder the more you accept these fallacies as arguments.

I'm often speechless how pretty influencial YouTubers/streamers wholeheartedly believe something based purely on fallacies. All the young viewers which aren't able to identify them most definitely become even more susceptible to this kind of logic, worsening the situation in the future.

Re: Guide to cognitive biases

#42

Post by projektfu »

magila wrote: post #32
Uehreka wrote: post #18

When I see someone on Facebook/Twitter link to a site like this to demonstrate that the person they’re arguing with is “doing a fallacy”, I just accuse them of Appeal To Authority. I feel like these kinds of sites are often just used to shut someone down by saying that they’re doing something wrong, without actually going through the work of following through with why the “fallacy” makes their argument weak. Also, in…

IME cognitive bias has become a popular talking point among the left which is used to dismiss those who disagree with them. I.e. if you don't buy into identity politics and other "woke" views it's because you are succumbing to cognitive biases.

That’s funny. I consider myself “left” but find these dismissive charges of bias deployed a lot by libertarian debaters.

Re: Guide to cognitive biases

#43

Post by netr0ute »

bradrn wrote: post #26
Uehreka wrote: post #18

When I see someone on Facebook/Twitter link to a site like this to demonstrate that the person they’re arguing with is “doing a fallacy”, I just accuse them of Appeal To Authority. I feel like these kinds of sites are often just used to shut someone down by saying that they’re doing something wrong, without actually going through the work of following through with why the “fallacy” makes their argument weak. Also, in…

Well, if you really want to go this route, you can beat them at their own game and accuse them of Arguing From Fallacy. (A nice illustration: https://theupturnedmicroscope.com/comic/logical-fallacies-ar... ) That being said, I do think it’s important to avoid fallacious reasoning — it helps in making arguments clearer. As mentioned above, just because someone uses a fallacy doesn’t mean their conclusion is wrong, but…

The Fallacy Fallacy doesn't actually do anything because it is covered by itself and creates a loop.

Re: Guide to cognitive biases

#44

Post by projektfu »

throwaway98797 wrote: post #17

What’s the use of this really? Many of these are used as ammunition for arguments vs. clarifing reasoning.

It’s useful when evaluating your own actions and reasoning, especially when you might have a vested interest in the result. From evaluating investment opportunities to understanding the state of science in an area, being aware of cognitive biases can help you get to the real truth.

Re: Guide to cognitive biases

#45

Post by Planktonne »

magila wrote: post #32
Uehreka wrote: post #18

When I see someone on Facebook/Twitter link to a site like this to demonstrate that the person they’re arguing with is “doing a fallacy”, I just accuse them of Appeal To Authority. I feel like these kinds of sites are often just used to shut someone down by saying that they’re doing something wrong, without actually going through the work of following through with why the “fallacy” makes their argument weak. Also, in…

IME cognitive bias has become a popular talking point among the left which is used to dismiss those who disagree with them. I.e. if you don't buy into identity politics and other "woke" views it's because you are succumbing to cognitive biases.

I don't think 'cognitive bias' is used half as dismissively or dishonestly as 'woke' is.

Re: Guide to cognitive biases

#46

Post by disease »

throwaway98797 wrote: post #17

What’s the use of this really? Many of these are used as ammunition for arguments vs. clarifing reasoning.

Pardon my cynicism, but you could use these as a guide for drawing money from people that are predisposed towards having many strong cognitive biases. There seems to be a near limitless number of people with money suffering from extreme social isolation in addition to narcissistic personality disorder. These people have little interest in reality and will happily give you their money if you play into these biases.

Re: Guide to cognitive biases

#48

Post by djoldman »

cainxinth wrote: post #21
djoldman wrote: post #16

> Cognitive biases refer to the identifiable and indexable errors that are found in our judgment in a predictable and systematic way. Ok. Clicking through to the first one: > The Barnum effect is a cognitive bias that induces an individual to accept a vague description of personality traits as applying specifically to themselves. Then they give an example story of something reading like a horoscope. The story could r…

The key word is ‘specifically.’

I think this makes sense if specifically meant "only" but it doesn't. It means "exact":

  Specifically: in a way that is exact and clear; precisely.
The story can specifically refer to multiple people. There is no definite error here as I see it.

Re: Guide to cognitive biases

#49

Post by dionidium »

wombatmobile wrote: post #4

Is there somewhere a guide for preventing and/or overcoming these cognitive biases?

Honesty and a willingness to accept that you're just as biased as anyone else can get you pretty far. A reasonable enough test might be: do you believe anything to be true that you wish weren't true? If every explanation you adopt for every social ill, every natural phenomenon, every historical event neatly fits a model that generates no discomfort, do you think it's more likely that the world really is that way or that you're privileging particular explanations?

Re: Guide to cognitive biases

#50

Post by phtrivier »

glial wrote: post #40
phtrivier wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> scientists are wrong Every medical scandal (For example, in the French Antilles, the scandal around "chlordecone", a pesticide, is supposed to be fueling anti-vaccine fear today.) Earlier uncertainties about masks, vaccinne efficiency, vaccines from different countries, possible early treatments, etc... Even though the "consensus" settles quickly, the dust of the discussion remains in the air for very long. Media i…

> Media is playing a part here, ironicaly because "not blindly trusting the authority" and "presenting a balanced view of facts" is good for ratings Yes, this is part of it. Of course scientists are wrong sometimes, but it's in someone's interest to stoke general distrust.

Sure.

I would love to have a way to quantify how much of the distrust is knowingly fueled by "chaotic" actors (snake-oil salesmen, foreign powers, cynical policitians, etc..) vs how much is "baked into" the history, political and mediatic structure and, as the original content explains... in our brains.

History and brains being unfixable, I hope there is something we can improve in the structures.

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