Countering Bias with Literacy

Abstract

Literacy involves understanding the strengths and weaknesses of an idea, can help reduce bias, and encourage opportunities for innovation. 

Treatment

When I look at websites for bias, I seek to understand how literate they are about their own belief system. In order to become a better thinker, it’s important to understand the system through which ideas are shaped. Whether that medium is science, religion, popular culture, or any of the millions of systems that are out there, the more literate individuals are about the strengths and weaknesses of their thinking system, the more they can protect from bias. Building this kind of literacy is important in order to put ideas in context and take them further. 

Snopes.com is a good example of a tool that can benefit from a literate approach. While seen largely as a site that reports information accurately, the truth is that it suffers from the same biases as other sites. Adam Pash at lifehacker points out that Snopes is just as prone to errors as any other source. He states “Snopes is generally a good, trustworthy source, but don't throw away your skepticism just because Snopes said so” (2011). One example is the snopes review of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. In their attempt to prove the anti-religious themes in the book, they fail to mention the central role of god in the series. Individuals who fail to recognize Snope's limitations fail to use Snopes correctly, as a guide not a gospel. The end result is that they are not as literate about what the Snopes website really is.

   

Michael Shermer of the 21^st Century Fluency Project created the Baloney DetectionKit, a set of criteria for testing the validity of claims. Criteria number seven asks “is the claimant is playing by the rules of science?” (2011). I have to wonder if this is good science or if it fails to grasp some of the elegance of a truly skeptical approach. As fellow Media Psychologist Lisa Swain commented, Shermer seems to insist that the only way to determine the value of an idea is to examine it scientifically (2011). Though Shermer seems to spend a great deal of time looking at the context of science, I cannot help but wonder if his opinion is biased. To me, the true scientist is the one who retains his skepticism, even when dealing with the scientific medium. Not every good idea came out of science!

Often, admitting the weaknesses of science is what paves the way for future discoveries. If AlexanderFleming had discarded the accident that helped him discover Penicillin, its adoption by the public at large would have been further delayed. Understanding the failures of science is exactly what opened a whole new world of scientific exploration for him.

Conclusion

Developing literacy includes looking at the weaknesses of a user’s systems of belief and understanding the world. Often times, by knowing those limitations, individuals can create opportunities to use those systems of belief better. This allows for greater innovation and change.

Sources

Alexander Flemming. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 8, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Fleming

Pash, Adam. (2011). How to Identify and Avoid Spreading Misinformation, Myths, and Urban Legends on the Internet. Lifehacker. Retrieved September 8, 2011, from http://lifehacker.com/5798308/how-to-identify-and-avoid-spreading-misinformation-myths-and-urban-legends-on-the-internet

Shermer, Michael. (2011). Baloney Detection Kit. 21^st Century Fluency Project. Retrieved September 8, 2011, from http://www.committedsardine.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=181

Swain, L. (2011, September 9). Forum Communication.

The Golden Compass. (2007). In Snopes.com. Retrieved September 8, 2011, from http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp