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by bumby 2174 days ago
> Study cognitive biases to become more aware of their effects on our thinking and hopefully "immunize" our mind against some of their effects.

I’m not sure this works. In fact, Daniel Khaneman has said in the into to “Thinking: Fast and Slow” that all his study into cognitive biases has led him to believe he’s powerless to stop them in himself, and still only able to recognize them in others

1 comments

That's where my third bullet comes in... you need a high degree of metacognitive awareness (mindfulness) to be able recognize your own biases. Together they do make a difference. If you're well versed in cognitive biases, then as you increase your mindfulness you will begin to recognize them in yourself, at first with a delay, upon reflection, and later --- when you're practically a Zen master ;-) --- you may recognize them in real-time and be able to correct them immediately.
I think what Khaneman was getting at is that it's hopeless futile to try and recognize your own biases in a meaningful. So why I understand your statement, I'm skeptical that's it's possible if someone at the forefront of cognitive science admits he can't do it. I'm still enough of an optimist to try and use mindfulness myself to accomplish that though.

Of course, maybe he's just really bad at being mindful ;-)