Bias Quotes

“We criticize a thinker more acutely when he advances a proposition that is disagreeable to us; and yet it would be more reasonableto do so when his proposition is agreeable to us.”

“Human judgment of human actions is true and void , that is to say, first true and then void.... The judgment of the word is true, the judgment in itself is void.... Only he who is a party can really judge, but as a party he cannot judge. Hence it follows that there is no possibility of judgment in the world, only a glimmer of it.”

“A readiness to believe ill of others, before we have duly examined it, is the effect of laziness and pride. We are eager to find aculprit, and loath to give ourselves the trouble of examining the crime.”

“As people get their opinions so largely from the newspapers they read... But the Press is not free, the newspapers are owned by rich men.”

“Intelligence tests are biased toward the literate.”

“He liked the works of his friends, which is beautiful as loyalty but can be disastrous as judgement.”

“We are eager to believe that others are flawed because we are eager to believe in what we wish for.”

“We think very few people sensible, except those who are of our opinion.”

“Self-interest makes some people blind, and others sharp-sighted.”

“We label judges with having the meanest motives, and yet we desire that our reputation and fame should depend upon the judgment of men, who are all, either from their jealousy or preoccupation or want of intelligence, opposed to us - and yet despite their bias, just for the sake of making these men decide in our favor, we peril in so many ways both our peace and our life.”

“The man who sees little always sees less than there is to see; the man who hears badly always hears something more than there is to hear.”

“So many figures are quoted to prove so many things. Sometimes it depends on what paper you read or what broadcast you listen in on.”

“However greatly we distrust the sincerity of those we converse with, yet still we think they tell more truth to us than to anyone else.”

“It is a curious fact that of all the illusions that beset mankind none is quite so curious as that tendency to suppose that we are mentally and morally superior to those who differ from us in opinion.”

“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion or ethnic background, is that we all believe we are above-average drivers.”

“Logic: an instrument used for bolstering a prejudice.”

“It is important to realize that a large percentage of what we hear or see on the news focuses on those places where there is violent conflict...It gives us a slightly or very distorted view of what is going on because there are many other parts of the planet where there is no violent conflict, but that is not on the news.”

“Interest which blinds some People, enlightens others.”

“When you don't understand something, you label it and condemn it" (94) - Danny Glover, "The Fundamental Things”

“The human mind is generally far more eager to praise and dispraise than to describe and define. It wants to make every distinction a distinction of value; hence those fatal critics who can never point out the differing quality of two poets without putting them in an order of preference as if they were candidates for a prize.”

“Hatred obscures all distinctions.”

“I'm an American, first and foremost, and I'm very proud - I said, I've said to my beloved friend and colleague John McCain, a friend of 25 years, "John, I love you, but I'm not just going to vote for you on the basis of our affection or friendship." And I've said to Barack Obama, "I admire you. I'll give you all the advice I can. But I'm not going to vote for you just because you're black." We have to move beyond this.”

“Our judgments when we are pleased and friendly are not the same as when we are pained and hostile.”

“If Jack's in love, he's no judge of Jill's beauty.”

“How difficult it is to avoid having a special standard for oneself.”