>"We only see what we know." *— Goethe* The confirmation bias describes the tendency to interpret our surroundings or actively look for information confirming what we already think or feel. In other words, we mistake our internal representation of the world, the narrative we feed ourselves, for the world. ## Increasing Number Experiment Consider the following classic experiment. I have a secret rule in mind governing a sequence of three numbers, $2$, $4$ and $6$, that follow this rule. Your task is to discover the rule by proposing other three-number sequences, and I'll tell you whether if follows the rule or not. You're most likely to form a quick hypothesis and then test sequences confirming it. If you think the the rule is adding $2$, you'd say $10,12,14$, and I would say yes, reinforcing your assumption. You might then call out other similar sequences following the same exact rule. First, the actual rule is simply "any three increasing numbers". Second, the only way to discover this is to try and falsify your own theory by testing. Remember, the goal of the game is not to call out series matching this rule; it is to guess the rule itself. We rarely, if ever, try to disprove what we think to be true, despite the fact this is the only way to find out wether what we think is true or not. We're wired to prove ourselves right, not to find the truth. ## Peter & Paul >"What Paul says about Peter tells us more about Paul than about Peter." *— Spinoza* This bias isn't limited to knowledge acquisition. It also shapes how we view others. We often project our own traits, fears, and insecurities onto others. Our perception acts less as a window and more as a mirror. Somebody in constant fear of being lied to is unlikely to be trustworthy. A person steadily complaining about how selfish others are might be struggling with their own self-centeredness. As an uncle once told me, *"an egoist is someone who does not put me first."* This is why someone's judgement can be so revealing. Understanding what someone is afraid of in others teaches you a lot about them. >"We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are." *— Anais Nin* This manifestation of the confirmation bias is also called the **projection bias**. ## Practical Applications Challenging your perception is a practical tool for improving your life in many different areas. ### Functioning with Others Most, if not all, disagreements and misunderstanding come from the fact we think others share our definitions because we project our way of thinking onto them. If we fail to make them clear, we fail to understand each other. ### Understanding Others When listening to someone, ask yourself what that person's judgement of the world reveal about them. Ask people when they talk about their fears or ask them what they are. It's telling. ### Improving Your Mood We notice more sad people on the streets when we feel sad, and tend to actively seek things reinforcing this feeling, like listening to depressing music, creating a feedback loop. This is the case because the only language the brain understand is action. In other words, if, when feeling sadness, you act upon those feelings, you're asking your brain for more sadness. You'll get more and more of those feelings until you break the cycle and stop reinforcing the pattern by responding to those feelings. I don't remember who said that, but feelings are suggestions. Treat them as such. Recognizing this can be all you need to break the cycle by seeking things opposite of what you feel, even if it's just trying to smile. ### Dealing with Stress The same goes for stress. When nervous, we listen to music that makes us even more nervous, or reach for coffee. Instead, we can try the opposite, like [[Box Breathing|box breathing]]. Understanding this allows to recover and come back to a baseline state much quicker. ### Accelerated Learning Actively seek to be wrong. Understanding this helped me learn languages at a native level much faster than anything else. Whenever in doubt, I would say what I thought to be wrong and either look at people's reaction to understand whether this was right or wrong. If their reaction wasn't clear, I'd bluntly insist or repeat to coerce them into correcting me. Today I speak Russian at a native level. ### Clear Thinking >"Delay insight." *— Daniel Kahneman* A student writing on a subject will often decide half-consciously what he wants to prove even before researching the topic. Refraining from forming a judgement early on will allow you to keep an open mind and make interesting discoveries instead of discarding everything that doesn't fit what you've already decided is true.