I can see your bias

Events occurring and how they relate/affect Anabaptist faith and culture.
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Bootstrap
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I can see your bias

Post by Bootstrap »

I've been thinking about the way people use the word bias here. Often, they look at something they don't like and immediately dismiss it as biased if it does not agree with their point of view. But here's what bias means:
Bias is an inclination or outlook to present or hold a partial perspective, often accompanied by a refusal to consider the possible merits of alternative points of view.
Often, I think people say "that's biased" when they really mean "this isn't expressing my viewpoint". And here's one useful test: if you can look at something and decide that it's biased in 30 seconds, you haven't taken the time to examine the facts it presents and compare it to other presentations of the same facts. Of course, you can often read an article quickly and determine that no verifiable facts are presented, that it uses blatant propaganda techniques, etc., but when the article presents facts, dismissing them that quickly usually points to your own bias.

The people most likely to shout "that's biased" are often the least likely to be open to a careful, patient examination of the facts, especially if they might interfere with your existing point of view. And that's the textbook definition of bias.

But here's another problem: I think I can see your bias. You think you can see mine. We're probably both right. If we don't take the time for a patient, friendly discussion, neither of will learn.
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Robert
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Re: I can see your bias

Post by Robert »

Bootstrap wrote:But here's another problem: I think I can see your bias. You think you can see mine. We're probably both right. If we don't take the time for a patient, friendly discussion, neither of will learn.
I see your bias quite easily. I bloviate mine with the same libatious verbosity. 8-)

I always think of tires when the word bias comes up.

Tires have bias. They will tend to wear and pull in one direction over time. This is why they have to be rotated to get maximum wear from them.

We all have bias. We each have developed a world view. We filter things with that world view. If it does not fit, we tend to reject it until it has hit us enough times that we have to consider rotating our tires a bit. If we rotate our tires every time we feel a slight tug, we will be in the shop constantly and never get anywhere. It is only after constantly feeling that pull, do we stop and get it addressed.

The challenge is someone else will jump in my vehicle and say, hey this pulls to the right. Mine pulls to the left, so yours needs to be fixed. I am used to the right pull and it doesn't bother me. I still get to where I need to get. Only when I fall asleep is it an issue.

So just because I have a bias, it doesn't mean I can not, nor will not get to where I need to be.

Current events: Many with a liberal bent will fix that bias for the next 4 years like many with a conservative bias fought the past 8 years. They are just waking up feeling like the other group did for 8 years. We will all get to where we need to be. Some will fit that bias more, but, if they stay awake, will get there.

Now, if we put biased tires on both sides and balance them just right, we find we can drive quite well. So opposing bias can be a very good thing. I love to hear from others who see things differently. Just because I do not agree, doesn't mean it is not worth hearing or considering. It will just take a really big "jerk" to the left to make me stop and get my tires rotated because I can easily compensate as I drive.
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Szdfan
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Re: I can see your bias

Post by Szdfan »

The reality is that all of us have bias and that bias is unavoidable. That's why it's good to read and watch a variety of news sources.

And I agree with Boot, bias is often used as a way to dismiss an article out of hand that we don't agree with. I know I do that probably more often than I care to admit.

At its most extreme, invoking bias to reject news articles one doesn't agree with is a way of attempting to inoculate oneself from a world that may not operate or function the way I think it should. It's a form of tribalism. It's intellectual laziness. It's focusing on opinion instead of facts. It's a way of dismissing uncomfortable truths by shooting the messenger instead of listening to the message.

The irony is that while we have access to more information than we've ever had before in human history, we also have a more difficult time processing it and thinking about it. I do try to read conservative sources whose bias I agree with, but sometimes that's really hard to do. I engage with MD because I don't want to be just around my perspective, but sometimes that's hard to do as well.
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temporal1
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Re: I can see your bias

Post by temporal1 »

at some point, rejection based on bias, is earned.
when talking points repeat incessantly, no matter context, no matter "venue," or medium, overall rejection is earned.

my view is, presently, this is the overall message being sent to establishment pundits, not just politicians. too much was trusted for too long, you took advantage, you are now rejected.

this is not the same as parsing every report, every word. and, it is earned.
true, on all sides of every aisle.

people "get their fill," then, "enough."

just as some avoid reading anything i post - this happens across the board, and, it's fair.
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Bootstrap
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Re: I can see your bias

Post by Bootstrap »

temporal1 wrote:at some point, rejection based on bias, is earned.
when talking points repeat incessantly, no matter context, no matter "venue," or medium, overall rejection is earned.
"Talking point" often means "you said something that sounds important, and I am going to reject it without addressing it".

If wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are important, then I think we need to take time to reflect carefully if we choose to look at the news.

Often, I think we import worldly propaganda directly into Kingdom circles. When that happens, I think it's important to take a good hard look at it. And sometimes you have better 3D vision if one eye is a little to the left and the other is a little to the right. The brain has to resolve the difference.
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MaxPC
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Re: I can see your bias

Post by MaxPC »

temporal1 wrote:at some point, rejection based on bias, is earned.
when talking points repeat incessantly, no matter context, no matter "venue," or medium, overall rejection is earned.
:up:
I see it repeatedly (pun intended). A person or persons who are so fixated on their own issues/agenda that they find a way to insert that agenda into every topic even if the topic is completely unrelated to their agenda.

Like the toddler who insists on attention by stamping his feet and whining "I want it", the incessant and relentless repetition is completely unrelated to the topic/context. When corrected/admonished, the toddler objects vociferously, changes the subject slightly or inserts a different meaning to avoid admonishment and facing his own guilt. The kicked dog yelps the loudest.

There are many adults with this unresolved toddler behavior. The best we can do is move on and ignore the immature adult & pray for his maturation and conversion. We shake the dust from our collective feet.
Last edited by MaxPC on Wed Dec 14, 2016 11:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Josh
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Re: I can see your bias

Post by Josh »

Sometimes I think a mirror would be a useful feature to add to MN
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Bootstrap
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Re: I can see your bias

Post by Bootstrap »

MaxPC wrote:I see it repeatedly (pun intended). A person or persons who are so fixated on their own issues/agenda that they find a way to insert that agenda into every topic even if the topic is completely unrelated to their agenda. Like the toddler who insists on attention by stamping his feet and whining "I want it", the incessant and relentless repetition is completely unrelated to the topic/context.
You see that with a lot of things - news, Bible study, statistics, science, anything that involves careful reflection to see what is true. Some people just keep repeating what they thought before they even got started. And doing that is a sure-fire way to ensure that you never learn anything.

You know the old quip:
He uses statistics in the same way that a drunk uses lamp-posts—for support rather than illumination.
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temporal1
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Re: I can see your bias

Post by temporal1 »

MaxPC wrote:
temporal1 wrote:at some point, rejection based on bias, is earned.
when talking points repeat incessantly, no matter context, no matter "venue," or medium, overall rejection is earned.
:up:
I see it repeatedly (pun intended). A person or persons who are so fixated on their own issues/agenda that they find a way to insert that agenda into every topic even if the topic is completely unrelated to their agenda.

Like the toddler who insists on attention by stamping his feet and whining "I want it", the incessant and relentless repetition is completely unrelated to the topic/context. When corrected/admonished, the toddler objects vociferously, changes the subject slightly or inserts a different meaning to avoid admonishment and facing his own guilt. The kicked dog yelps the loudest.

There are many adults with this unresolved toddler behavior. The best we can do is move on and ignore the immature adult & pray for his maturation and conversion. We shake the dust from our collective feet.
i agree, and, as i stated above, i see it for myself, as well.
one way to discern "reading with bias" is present, is when it's obvious posts are not read in whole (which i do, and i see others do) - whether it's a news source, or the one sitting next to you in church, when you have "summed that person up," listening ends. sometimes worthwhile things get lost in the mix. but, it's how the human brain works.

in a laboratory setting, attempts to control can be made - but, as has been repeated+repeated, even labs and science can be, and usually are, biased. there is no "purity" of human thought. that's delusional.

scriptures correctly refer to filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6
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Most or all of this drama, humiliation, wasted taxpayer money could be spared -
with even modest attempt at presenting balanced facts from the start.


”We’re all just walking each other home.”
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Bootstrap
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Re: I can see your bias

Post by Bootstrap »

MaxPC wrote:There are many adults with this unresolved toddler behavior. The best we can do is move on and ignore the immature adult & pray for his maturation and conversion. We shake the dust from our collective feet.
Which category do you think you fall into?
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