60 ways to get it wrong

Back in April I wrote a post titled We're all less biased than everyone else. In the post I mentioned an article from the New York Times which cites research about how frequently people think themselves to be less biased than others.

I have since found on Wikipedia a very interesting List of Cognitive Biases, a  thorough pathology of how we can incorrectly interpret information.  While browsing this shockingly long list of biases, I recognized many immediately, not necessarily by their name (e.g. "the Von Restorff effect") but certainly by the symptoms ("the tendency for an item that 'stands out like a sore thumb' to be more likely to be remembered than other items").

What's more troubling is that not only did I recognize them, but some of them are old friends of mine. How much is there that I don't know because of their interference? Seeing them in this light will maybe make me more aware of them the next time they try to make an appearance.

If you're brave, maybe you can take a look at the list, choose to abolish one of these biases, and see what new things you learn.