🧠Weekly Mind Sweep #130| Curated Conversation | Bias
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[Set Scene]
It's a sunny, calm, and breezy Friday afternoon at Wild Hard in Hudson, MA. A group of Phenomenal Women Drinking Caffeine has gathered around a table near the entrance. Each enjoys a snack and sip while the cool breeze from the open garage door crosses their cheeks.
There is laughter, smiles, pondering, conversation, and gentle nods of understanding. They open their discussion by touching on recent happenings from the week.
"Did any of you watch the presidential debate?"
[Director's Clapboard Slams]
"CUT! Wait, Jamie. We're supposed to discuss what comes up in the deck of cards, ladies.
Jamie, pull those cards out, and let's get this conversation back on track. And… ACTION!"
Jamie pulls a card from Tosha Silver's Wild Offerings deck, and conversation ensues about the chosen card, "Mistakes." [1]
[End Scene]
Just like a movie producer stopping a "missed take," when something doesn't go as expected or planned, we label it a mistake, stop and redirect our focus.
For July, we're going to dig into the topic of bias.
While researching bias, specifically cognitive bias, I came across a perspective that called them "mental mistakes," and I love this perspective!
In our time together at Curated Conversations, we learned that our brain loves to take shortcuts. [2]
As usual, I always love to begin with how we as humans have defined our word of the month:
Did you know that there are 188 known cognitive biases?
Our attention is a limited resource, and we do not have the bandwidth to evaluate every detail of every moment in every situation. We rely on mental shortcuts to evaluate situations based on our core needs.
Biases influence our beliefs and our actions.
It can lead to poor decisions, a lack of ability to listen to opposing views, or even contribute to the alienation of those with different viewpoints.
Then we step back and realize that 8.1 billion people are doing the same thing; what even is Reality? [4]
Bias is not good or bad; it simply is.
As we've practiced, awareness is the first step to bringing unconscious behavior to the surface, discerning it against our values, and utilizing our power to choose.
This month, we're going to practice our awareness of our bias.
Here's some fun "information overload" data to consider:
"In 2020, internet users generated 64.2 ZB (Zettabyte) of data, which exceeded the number of detectable stars in the cosmos. Experts expect the figures to rise, with data creation reaching 147 ZB by the end of 2024."
With around 5.35 billion internet users worldwide, each person can potentially generate approximately 15.87 TB of data daily.
In 2023, the world created around 120 zettabytes (ZB). Breaking down the figures will give a rough estimate of 337,080 petabytes (PB) of daily data. In context, there are around 5.35 billion internet users globally, meaning each user can create about 15.87 TB of data daily.
Experts project that by 2025, over 463 exabytes (EB) of data will be generated daily worldwide. The numbers are equivalent to 212,765,957 DVDs per day, equal to watching "The Social Network" non-stop for 17,878,250.55 days. [5]
1 exabyte = 1,000 Petabytes.
1 Petabyte = 1,000 terabytes.
1 TB in size would be the equivalent of 83,333,333.33 pages. (Eighty-three million three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three)
We have not evolved to process this amount of data, and even with the amount of data passing our individual eyes each day, we are not processing it all. We're taking shortcuts to get the information we need to survive—this minute.
Remember, we're doing all we can to walk, talk, and not get run over by moving cars.
We might be wired to believe what we see based on our ability to absorb information at the time. But before you become a statistic for sharing information online, consciously filter it through your values and discern what is most valuable.
Remember that what you read is likely from a biased perspective, including this!
For me, this feels like divine timing to discuss bias, as it raises awareness of how our brain works as we navigate the information coming into our consciousness.
So that we can take aligned action.
How do you balance staying informed with the vast amount of information available while being mindful of the biases that might come with it?
Reply and share with me!
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Jamie’s Second Brain Corner
[1] Tosha Silver's Wild Offerings Deck
[2] What is Curated Conversation?
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