The Bias Test

Ummm...interesting...very interesting.

Is it wrong to have biases? I think to have a bias is to be human. I am biased towards football over soccer. I have a bias of Mexican food over Chinese. I have an infamous bias of redheads (nothing but trouble) over brunettes. When it comes to this cultural desire to be one big happy world I don't think it is as important to eliminate bias as it is to eliminate acting on such bias.

As a former designer of psychological tests I was somewhat offended by the promotional material at the beginning of the Bias Test. It was filled with such langauge as "It often reveals an automatic preference for [X] relative to [Y]. X and Y values could be filled with Young/Old, Straight/Gay, European/Arab, Thin/Fat etc. Well thank you for stating the obvious. Again, I don't care if you have a thought or inclination. I'm not the Thought Police. As long as you're not denying a job, refusing the rent an apartment, firing someone because of their age, race, gender, sexual preference, etc I don't care!

The saying goes that "Action speaks louder than words." Unlike some people I know I believe action speaks louder than thought as well. Despite my sqwaking about some of the philosophy behind the promotional material, you should go take some of the exams. The results may surprise you.