Answer: Bias versus Biased
danegen asks: When do you use "bias" versus "biased"?
With examples from Stargate Atlantis.
"Bias" is a word with several definitions, but the meaning this article is concerned with is as follows: "a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice" (from dictionary.com).
Writers often misuse "bias" and "biased" in their writing, most commonly writing "bias" for everything when the word they really want is "biased." This may be because the two words can sound too much alike when spoken quickly or slurred, so people aren't sure which word is the correct one for what they're writing.
The difference is relatively simple: "Bias" is a noun, while "biased" is an adjective. In other words, a person can be biased, or they can have a bias. If you have a bias against something, you are biased. Make sense?
Wrong: Rodney complained that the botanists were bias against him, until Sheppard pointed out that they were only giving as good as they got.
Correct: Rodney complained that the botanists were biased against him, until Sheppard pointed out that they were only giving as good as they got.
You could, however, reword the above sentence so that "bias" is correct:
Rodney complained that the botanists had a bias against him, until Sheppard pointed out that they were only giving as good as they got.
Finally, as a side note, often writers will use the construction "bias toward" or "biased toward," when what they really mean to say is "bias/biased against." These two constructions have opposite meanings ("biased toward" means in favor of something, "biased against" means not in favor), so be sure to watch your usage of that as well.
With examples from Stargate Atlantis.
"Bias" is a word with several definitions, but the meaning this article is concerned with is as follows: "a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice" (from dictionary.com).
Writers often misuse "bias" and "biased" in their writing, most commonly writing "bias" for everything when the word they really want is "biased." This may be because the two words can sound too much alike when spoken quickly or slurred, so people aren't sure which word is the correct one for what they're writing.
The difference is relatively simple: "Bias" is a noun, while "biased" is an adjective. In other words, a person can be biased, or they can have a bias. If you have a bias against something, you are biased. Make sense?
Wrong: Rodney complained that the botanists were bias against him, until Sheppard pointed out that they were only giving as good as they got.
Correct: Rodney complained that the botanists were biased against him, until Sheppard pointed out that they were only giving as good as they got.
You could, however, reword the above sentence so that "bias" is correct:
Rodney complained that the botanists had a bias against him, until Sheppard pointed out that they were only giving as good as they got.
Finally, as a side note, often writers will use the construction "bias toward" or "biased toward," when what they really mean to say is "bias/biased against." These two constructions have opposite meanings ("biased toward" means in favor of something, "biased against" means not in favor), so be sure to watch your usage of that as well.