(no subject)
In 1975, one of the Viking landers sent back a photograph to the earth in which it appeared that the letter "B" had been carved into the surface of the rock. Then it became apparent to the scientist just what they were seeing. A formation that appeared to look like something common to them. Nothing more. This can be shown with what is called the 'experimenter effect' or 'observer-expectancy effect.' People, including trained scientists, will inherintley begin an experiment with a bias, and will massage data in such a way to make the outcome match the belief they held at the beginning of the experiment. A broader example of this is known as the Pygmalion effect. Teachers were led to believe that a certain percentage of the class would perform better than the others. In truth, this percentage was chosen at random.
In the medical field, this inherent bias is filtered out with double-blind studies. Results could be influenced by simply telling people that the drug either worked or didn't. It was like the placebo effect except the patients weren't what was fixing the data. It was pre-existing bias. Self deception.
One has to wonder how much of their daily life is based off of selective thinking.
In the medical field, this inherent bias is filtered out with double-blind studies. Results could be influenced by simply telling people that the drug either worked or didn't. It was like the placebo effect except the patients weren't what was fixing the data. It was pre-existing bias. Self deception.
One has to wonder how much of their daily life is based off of selective thinking.