In Dilip V. Jeste’s 2020 book, Wiser, he explains how everyone is complicit in some forms of cognitive bias, and that these generalizations can be potentially harmful as they “may lead to memory errors, inaccurate judgments, and faulty logic” (Jeste 147). He furthers by discussing several different examples of cognitive bias, illustrating how they are present in our daily lives. Although I already had some understanding of cognitive biases, this piece made me more aware of the endless ‘bias possibilities,’ and that I participate in many of them without giving them a second thought. I believe that it is important to learn about these biases so that one can live without these hidden constraints, as it could immensely improve one’s own perspective and decision-making skills.
In Gary Abernathy’s article, “The simple fix to our polarization: Befriend someone you disagree with,” he lays out an easy solution to help in mending the political polarization of the US. Abernathy writes about how we must be willing to sit down, talk, and potentially befriend people with different beliefs and views as our own. He argues that this will cause a “shift [in] perspective from ‘us and them’ to ‘you and me’” (Abernathy). I believe this is especially relevant today because of how increasingly divided the US is becoming. People are becoming more and more extreme in their views, and that comes with being less open minded. I myself have strong opinions, however, I do think that it is important to learn how to stand in someone else’s shoes and try to understand their point of view, because only then will you be able to begin to find a middle ground. A cognitive bias that I think I have is the idea of being very protective of the things I own, even if I don’t need them. I’m certainly not a hoarder, but I can easily and quickly attach sentimental value to objects that don’t need to be kept, and so I tend to have a hard time letting go. |
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