Blind Bias

Any place is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
But me myself I've got nothing to prove
--Tracy Chapman

Bias is stubborn preference or dislike that impairs objective judgment.

Suppose we had a scale where we can plot people's preference for driving slow versus the speed limit versus preference for driving fast versus the speed limit. Some people are biased toward the slow side of scale, perhaps because they doubt their driving skills or fear an accident.

Slow<------------------------>Fast

Other people are biased toward the fast side of the scale, perhaps because they are impatient or hurried.

The smaller the distance between two people on the scale, the harder it is for one to detect bias in the other. To the drivers of two cars going the same speed side-by-side, it appears that both cars are standing still.

So it is with our biases. We tend to view ourselves as correct and objective. And if we are unbiased, then people close to us in preferences and dislikes must be unbiased as well.

However, we can readily detect drivers going slower or faster than us. The greater the distance between two drivers on the scale, the easier it is to recognize difference. From our reference point, we are standing still while the other person is moving. We anchor ourselves on a reference point, and view the other person as biased versus that reference point.

Bias is much easier to see in others than in ourselves.