How the investigator bias is ruining your life

A late evening dinner with extended family. Someone was fickle minded about having a lasik surgery done because of the risks google suggested. Ofcourse, at the end of the day- it IS a cosmetic surgery. Why take even a 1% risk?

A doctor, happened to be on panel.

Said it's true. But the bias has occupied mind space to an extent of disturbing extrapolition.

Diagnosed that someone with an investigator's bias.

Are you a victim too?

Watch the video below to get in zone first 😛

Also know as the 'observer expectancy' effect - when a researcher expects a given result (or rather, wants it), s/he unconsciously looks for data or manipulates it to come to that result.

How many times have you googled something up just to prove you were correct in a debate?

Plus, with online trolls and armchair activist debates, I see endless fights on facebook and youtube comments.

The bias can occur in any of the following areas

• Selective background reading
• Specifying and selecting the study sample
• Executing the experimental manoeuvre
• Measuring exposures and outcomes
• Data analysis
• Interpretation and discussion of results
• Publishing the results

Let's face it. You DO have some bias. Either you're inclined towards the left or the right. I've hardly interacted with anyone who is un-influenced and hence un-biased. And any media that fuels your fire is your go to source.

And you keep defending the correctness and authenticity of your biased reference, calling it unbiased.

How to get out of it? Allowance for difference of opinions

Allowance is different from tolerance.

While we're at it, here's a cognitive bias sheet that you may need to go through to identify areas where you're hijacked by your fast thinking brain (You should read Daniel Kahnemann's Thinking Fast and Slow)

While you're at it, there's some additional awesome cheat sheets on these at medium.com, which anyone interested may want to google up.

 Meanwhile, live, love and let live :)