Cognitive Biases

Post date: Dec 14, 2015 8:51:28 PM

A good friend asked [on WhatsApp]- “I feel like I have super illusory bias. Is it normal? btw, I am super addicted to psychology these days. This cognitive thing is super fun"

"Don't worry; you are not alone. It's perfectly normal. And Cognitive thing is super fun because without burning many brain cells, you get a feel of how this world works. You get straightforward explanations of complicated situations and why people are the way they are. What can be more fun than that? These theories exist because we are that way, most of us. Otherwise, these theories won't exist in the first place! So if you find yourself as one of the human beings there is nothing to worry, we are supposed to be like that." I tried my best to look like an expert :)

“Make sense! achcha, do you think reading too much psychology makes a person pshyco? a little weird? I feel most people who study psychology behaves a little odd"

"I don't think so, and one example that you might have in mind doesn't mean that everyone who study psychology becomes a phycho. But two things, one - Maybe because they think they understand more. It makes them a little weird or a little more arrogant. If you start thinking that you know how exactly this world works, which you don't, you are bound to behave a little oddly. …another thing is reading about cognitive biases are fun but it hardly helps. We almost never self-correct our behavior. There is a study that shows specialists respond in the same way to biases as any other normal person. Irrational cognitive bias experts behave like tota aayega jaal bichhayega. I don't think it helps making a person more rational.. but then it’s good to know our biases, if we can make rules and force us to behave according to it."

“You mean to say studying cognitive biases are useless?”

Not exactly, but if you ask me I will suggest learn but then unlearn a big part of it and have fun without worrying much :)