Views and Biases

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”

―Max Planck

The curious case of cognitive bias

Let me back up by borrowing a concept. Daniel Kahneman, psychologist and author of Thinking Fast and Slow talks about a theory he calls, “What You See Is All There Is,” or WYSIATI.

When faced with a difficult question, we often answer an easier one instead, usually without noticing the substitution. This generally ends up in our favour in minuscule situations but from a critical standing point, this needs to be examined carefully.

A person with a certain scientific temperament may call this a cognitive bias. A cognitive bias is a systemic inaccuracy in thinking that develops as people receive and interpret information in their environment, influencing their actions and judgements.

The human brain is both strong and limited. Cognitive biases are frequently caused by the brain’s attempt to simplify information processing. Biases are frequently used as rules of thumb to help you make sense of the environment and make decisions quickly.

Expectations from others

People always judge others by their actions but self by their intentions.

This is the Actor-observer bias Which is the tendency to attribute your actions to external causes while attributing other people’s behaviours to internal causes. Let’s take an example, You may feel sad when you may get tied in a race, You tie the other person’s win to luck but yours to sheer hard work.

The cause of this may be understood that only you are with yourself all day long. Thus it becomes increasingly difficult to judge other people and hence the brain takes the simplistic route of seeing things as they are in action form.

Naval Ravikant has a take on this. He introduces the idea of primary memory and secondary memory. It is in your primary memory to react to another person’s actions.

The thought here that rises is that it should be your second memory to observe this behaviour and try to stop reacting in situations where you might react, This requires practice and devotion of time,

When the day comes when the secondary memory crosses the primary memory, You will be successful in crossing the barriers.

By Tomáš Malík

Way forward

Debate and Deliberate, Consider and Reject

Careful to judge, Observe more

Aim for the best and prepare for the worst.