The Other Side

When was the last time you walked on the other side of the fence? In discussing current events with folks, and attempting to have some civil discussions about controversial topics, I come across the same issue again and again...people simply do not read/listen to a variety of sources about anything these days. I personally find that shocking. Who doesn't remember their high school teachers droning about examining the source of information, the bias we all give to our own writing and the perspective we each have about things? Clearly, a lot of people don't remember it, or they never heard it in the first place, because I consistently hear adamant opinions from people who don't bother to listen to more than one news channel, or one radio station, or read one newspaper.

I distinctly recall hearing from multiple teachers and professors about the danger of biases, and how they creep into everything you do and think. In science in particular one has to try to be aware of bias, for fear that it will bias your interpretation of your data. Thus scientists use a peer review process, where we essentially ask other well-trained scientists, "Does this make sense from this data?" And while it is true that small sections of science are small realms, and peer reviewers often know each other and can be biased from that relationship, the plus is that this means they have often been kept up to date with the data and research for several years before it's published, and thus they know better than anyone whether the author is trying to stretch the data to say something it really doesn't say.

But it's not just scientists who need to be aware of bias. Everybody needs to be aware of it, and ask questions to discern its influence. For example, I sure as heck want to know if my county commissioner is related to the concrete contractor who is bidding for the county roads job. I also want to know if a school committee member is a first cousin to the school principal that is up before the school committee to explain possible mishandling of an employee termination. Yeah, I think we need to be on the look out for bias in others, for sure.

What about our own biases? If we agree that biases can be bad, and can negatively influence our behavior and the behavior of others, why aren't we more cognizant of our own? I realize it's comfortable to stick with hearing/reading/watching news reports that agree with your own opinions. Of course we all prefer it when we are in agreement with someone, rather than arguing with them. There is nothing more annoying than watching a TV host pontificate about something about which you vehemently disagree. Nonetheless, if you don't watch or listen to those with whom you disagree, how are you ever going to appreciate where they are coming from? How do you suppose you will ever be able to carry on a decent civil discussion on topics where you disagree?

I try to be a bit cognizant of my media biases. I don't watch much TV "journalism" any more, seeing as it mostly showmanship and opinion with a 10% dose of news. However, I do read a lot of news online, and I read from a lot of different sources...BBC News, Fox News, CNN, Xinhua, Al Jazeera, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Reuters...well the list is pretty long, and I won't bore you with it, but suffice it to say that I read from a lot of news organizations, and it makes for a pretty broad picture from a lot of different angles. I also listen to a lot of different radio, when I listen to the radio. Thus when I talk to one of my in-laws, or a student, and they are raging about some particular subject and I hear "Well I heard/read on X..." and that's it, that's the sole source of their passionately held opinion...well, it's really not a very comprehensive source list, is it? And when pressed about how many different opinions they'd read, had they investigated the "other side's" view, etc, strangely the answer is always, "No," followed quickly by a defensive, "Why?" and something along the lines of "that's all snark and who would ever believe THAT" or some such pathetic excuse.

So I ask you, how often do you really look at issues from the "other side"? Be honest now, because I don't think we can honestly tell ourselves we are convinced we are right about a particular topic if we haven't really looked at what the other side has to offer. And, the beauty of it is, if you are honest and do look at the other side, and you recognize any good points, that just makes you more well-informed, doesn't it? And if you're going to strongly hold an opinion, shouldn't it be a well-informed one? Just sayin'...