What cognitive biases feel like from the inside
Building on the recent SSC post Why Doctors Think They’re The Best... What it feels like for meHow I see others who feel the sameThere is controversy on the subject but there shouldn't be because the side I am on is obviously right.They have taken one side in a debate that is unresolved for good reason that they are struggling to understandI have been studying this carefullyThey preferentially seek out conforming evidenceThe arguments for my side make obvious sense, they're almost boring.They're very ready to accept any and all arguments for their side.The arguments for the opposing side are contradictory, superficial, illogical or debunked.They dismiss arguments for the opposing side at the earliest opportunity.The people on the opposing side believe these arguments mostly because they are uninformed, have not thought about it enough or are being actively misled by people with bad motives.The flawed way they perceive the opposing side makes them confused about how anyone could be on that side. They resolve that confusion by making strong assumptions that can approach conspiracy theories. The scientific term for this mismatch is: confirmation bias What it feels like for meHow I see others who feel the sameMy customers/friends/relationships love me, so I am good for them, so I am probably just generally good.They neglect the customers / friends / relationships that did not love them and have left, so they overestimate how good they are.When customers / friends / relationships switch to me, they tell horror stories of who I'm replacing for them, so I'm better than those.They don't see the people who are happy with who they have and therefore never become their customers / friends / relationships. The scientific term for this mismatch is: selection bias What it feels like for meHow I see others who feel the sameAlthough I am smart and friendly, people don't listen to me.Although they are smart and friendly, they are hard to understand.I have a deep understanding o
Good, thank you.
There's a pattern of chronic aversive ideation I have seen multiple times, inside and outside rationalist circles, that I think might be a special case of what you describe: active impulsive "yang" thoughts accusing slower careful ones of "depression" and getting accused right back of "ADHD". Leading to neverending internal arguments and chrinic discomfort.
I intend to write something here in LW about framing of psychological discomfort as bad "cognitive communication culture" (analogous to "company culture") between different mental events (thoughts) sharing a brain. Your post was helpful for my work on this when I saw it on Substack, thank you for crossposting it to here too.