Gyroscopic Investing

I Was Wrong, and So Are You
A libertarian economist retracts a swipe at the left—after discovering that our political leanings leave us more biased than we think.

A discussion on another thread reminded me of this article.

I read this a while back and even though I'm now more aware of my inherent personal biases, I still find that they are the first thing that comes to mind.  When I was younger I was very good at being objective about everything and analyzing things without any sort of attachment to certain outcomes; now I find that I often have to remind myself to do so.

Does anyone else have this phenomenon?  How do you overcome it?

I find myself channeling HB a lot...we live in an uncertain world, no one can know the future.  Running that through my head seems to help.

This is a good honest article. Thanks for posting. There might to hope for us, after all, if this kind of openness catches on. That's a big "if" and I won't hold my breath, especially in an election year. But the article is a breath of fresh air.  I think that  a position anyone takes politically, economically, religiously or you name it, has built in bias and with that comes the tendency to find confirmation for that position. One goal, I think, is to become self aware enough to recognize the tendency towards confirmation bias and not be so attached to our thinking. Having intransigent convictions is usually the enemy of self awareness. Feelings of freedom that comes from changing outward circumstances in our lives is a very desirable thing and can lead to peace of mind. Investing in the PP is a good example of that. A deeper aspect of liberation occurs when we master our own thinking, not by control or suppression but by simple observation, awareness and self compassion. When I stop railing against the injustices of the "other side" and become aware, instead, of my own attachments and fears, I feel as though I am moving closer to the truth. And as it's said: the truth shall make you free.

hoost wrote: Does anyone else have this phenomenon?  How do you overcome it?

We ALL have this phenomenon.

Reading things that enforce my beliefs makes me feel good and reading things that go against them has the opposite effect.

Realizing that I have this natural tendency I just remind myself at times to stop and consider other points of view no matter how much they go against my grain. I don't have to consider them very long if they are advocating something morally reprehensible like genocide against a certain race or people but even then I do feel like I ought to listen at least briefly so I can understand the arguments they are making and know how to help other people who hold those beliefs to see past them. I don't think it ever does any good to just say "Oh, you're one of them" and just write people off.

hoost wrote: Does anyone else have this phenomenon?  How do you overcome it?

Of course!  And overcoming it?  Clumsy, constant, and mostly unsuccessful efforts.  I just try to have a good laugh about my failures, forgive myself, and move on.  I am, after all, just an ape.  A very dashing ape, to be sure, but still an ape. 

IMO one thing that helps is to have your views serve you rather than the other way around.  They're only there to inform and enlighten you.  When they attach themselves to your identity like some kind of barnacle they're going to be a real pain in the ass to scrape off.  Few of us will make the effort.

If you're spending a lot of time feeling some obligation to aggressively proselytize to others and it makes you so darn mad that the whole world doesn't get how right you are, you are probably in a "bad relationship" with this particular meme.

I also think that it's good to never feel like you have to have all the answers.  "I don't know" is a perfectly valid response to many of life's questions.  You are under no obligation to accept someone else's answer simply because you haven't yet formulated your own.

I fail frequently at all of the above.  Feel free to point and laugh.  I certainly do.

Lone Wolf wrote: IMO one thing that helps is to have your views serve you rather than the other way around.  They're only there to inform and enlighten you.  When they attach themselves to your identity like some kind of barnacle they're going to be a real pain in the ass to scrape off.  Few of us will make the effort.

If you're spending a lot of time feeling some obligation to aggressively proselytize to others and it makes you so darn mad that the whole world doesn't get how right you are, you are probably in a "bad relationship" with this particular meme.

I also think that it's good to never feel like you have to have all the answers.  "I don't know" is a perfectly valid response to many of life's questions.  You are under no obligation to accept someone else's answer simply because you haven't yet formulated your own.

I fail frequently at all of the above.  Feel free to point and laugh.  I certainly do.

Yeah, I like the idea of having your views serve you.  That seems like a good way to look at it.  I kind of look at it as a "working understanding"; it is subject to change as my understanding changes.

I definitely find myself saying "I don't know" a whole lot.  It seems like the more I learn, the more I feel like I don't know anything. 

I don't really feel the need to preach to others; I find debate and discussion to be a great tool to learn more about and consider differing opinions.  The hard part I think is overcoming the initial trigger when you come across a view that opposes your own, and forcing yourself to objectively consider the idea on its merits, versus allowing your preconceived perceptions and associations to take over.  The more I've become aware of this tendency the more I've found that I am able to force myself to take a step back and consider things objectively.  Doing this certainly makes watching the news a whole lot easier. 

If anyone have 35 minutes to kill, here is a great discussion with Jonathan Haidt where he explains why people argue about politics and religion, and hold on tight to their sacred beliefs:

http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/weekly/2012/ ... ure-wrong/

Also I just saw this quote from Nietzche: "There are no facts, only interpretations."