Cognitive Biases Galore

Will Keys |

There are diverse and novel Christmas gifts, and some ingenious ways to profit from that market.  A young and apparently well known Australian Marxist-feminist, we’ll refer to her as (“the recorder”), a oxymoronic label if you ask me, takes the cake for exploitation, in a capitalist market.  

The offering, for a single payment of seventy dollars, is a recording on iphone, addressed to a person of the payees choice.  Axiomatically, to someone that the recorder has never met. The Christmas aspect is perfunctory.  The actual recording is based upon a short interview with the payee beforehand.  The recording is entirely predictable, and lasts for a few minutes.  

The recipient of the recorded ‘gift’ will be told that they are uniquely brilliant, outstandingly talented and at peak performance.  It will be undertaken with great sincerity with ostensible goodwill, and apparent honest belief in the facts provided.  No background research will have been done.  The central thesis will be to reinforce the arbitrary notion of extreme personal achievement, and great success.  The entire recording is founded on the notion of ‘rights’ and ‘entitled’, that is to say ‘deserved’. 

The reader will digest and ponder, the type of mentality that would invest in or receiver, such a nebulous gift.  I have no doubt that the psychologist Jordan Peterson, ’12 Rules for Life’, would be truly appalled.  It is my melancholy duty to report that it is females in the professional strata of life that support and seek this type of self-delusion.  Only professional woman have enough disposable income to waste, on a self-serving ridiculous, dishonest and delusional personal assessment.   The implications this has for phenotypical males, especially those in the realm of this strata of professional women, is cause for serious concern.

On the other hand we can, with the proper policy guidelines change the mentality of children, especially female children.  Here I recommend Charting Change by Braden Kelley.  I also recommend TitleMax <50 Cognituve Biases to be aware of so you can be the very best version of you>.  It is interesting that Elon Musk was  so taken by the obvious simple truths articulated in the list of Cognitive Biases, that he endorsed them and gave directions to the public, on Twitter. 

For edification of this readership, I will regurgitate some of the 50 Cognitive Biases.

The Fundamental Attribution Error – We judge others on their personality or fundamental character, but we judge ourselves on the situation.

Self-Serving Bias – Our failures are situational but our successes are our responsibility.

In-Group Favoritism – We favour people who are in our in-group as opposed  to an out-group.

Bandwagon Effect – Ideas, fads and beliefs grow as more people adopt them.

Groupthink – Due to a desire for conformity and harmony in the group, we make irrational decisions often to minimize conflict. 

Halo Effect – If you see a person as having a positive trait, that positive impression will spill over into their other traits. (This also works for negative traits).

Dunning-Kruger Effect – The less you know. The more confident you are.  The more you know the less confident you are.  (This is my personal favourite.) 

Elon Musk argues convincingly that if we educated and inculcated our young people in an understanding and appreciation of the 50 Cognitive Biases, we would in comparative short term, lift their morality and critical thinking acuity.

Changing subjects entirely.  I mistakenly said the The James Webb Telescope (“JWT”) would be launched into space from French Guiana on the 28th December, 2021.  If all goes right, the launch will take place on the 24th December, 2021.  My profuse apologies.  The world is watching and holding its breath.  The JWT is the most expensive and by far the most complicated space deployment in history.  It will be my pleasure to report back.

Merry Christmas. 

By Will Keys