Definitions by Dumu The Void
Evidence Bias
The unfair weighting or dismissal of evidence based on its source or form, rather than its content. It’s the habit of automatically accepting a statistic from a known source while reflexively dismissing an eyewitness account as "just a story." This bias pre-filters reality, allowing some pieces of information in while barring others at the gate, regardless of their actual merit. It’s the intellectual equivalent of judging a book by its cover and refusing to open it.
Example: "He wouldn't believe my first-hand account of the protest, but immediately trusted a police report that contradicted it. That's Evidence Bias in action."
Evidence Bias by Dumu The Void March 11, 2026
Scientific Method Bias
The mistaken belief that the scientific method, as it is popularly understood (hypothesis, experiment, conclusion), is the only valid path to knowledge and that all other forms of understanding—philosophical reasoning, artistic insight, personal experience—are worthless. It’s a scientistic worldview that fails to recognize that science itself is built on philosophical assumptions (like the existence of an objective reality) that cannot be proven by science.
Example: "He tried to use Scientific Method Bias to argue that the concept of love is meaningless because you can't isolate it in a petri dish."
Scientific Method Bias by Dumu The Void March 11, 2026
Effect Picking
A form of cherry-picking where you selectively focus on certain effects or outcomes of a process while deliberately ignoring or minimizing others, especially the side effects. It’s used to make a complex issue look simple and beneficial. For example, a company might highlight the job-creation effect of a new factory while completely ignoring the effect of pollution on the local community. You pick the effects that matter to your argument and discard the rest.
Example: "The politician was effect picking by only talking about the tax cuts' effect on the stock market, while ignoring its effect on the national debt."
Effect Picking by Dumu The Void March 11, 2026
Evidence Picking
A broader and more blatant form of cherry-picking where you selectively choose which pieces of evidence to present, creating a false narrative. It’s the borderer form between simply omitting data and actively fabricating it. You present your "evidence" as a complete picture, but it's actually a carefully curated collection of facts that support your case, with all contradictory facts left on the cutting room floor. It’s the hallmark of a biased documentary or a misleading advertisement.
Example: "The documentary was just evidence picking; they interviewed only happy customers and completely ignored the thousands with complaints."
Evidence Picking by Dumu The Void March 11, 2026
Scientific Alienation
The feeling of being disconnected from, or hostile towards, the institutions, language, and culture of science. It’s not just a lack of understanding, but a sense that science is an exclusive club that you're not invited to, or that it's a tool used by elites to control you. This alienation can lead to a rejection of scientific consensus, not because of a better theory, but because the whole enterprise feels foreign and untrustworthy.
Example: "His distrust of the CDC isn't based on data; it's a deep Scientific Alienation, a feeling that those labs have nothing to do with his real life."
Scientific Alienation by Dumu The Void March 11, 2026
Epistemological Alienation
A profound and unsettling disconnection from the very concept of knowing. It’s the feeling that all sources of knowledge—news, science, personal experience, authority—are equally unreliable, leaving you in a state where you can't trust anything, including your own reasoning. This is deeper than simple skepticism; it’s a state of cognitive nihilism where the foundations of "how we know what we know" have crumbled.
Example: "After falling down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, he wasn't just confused, he was in a state of Epistemological Alienation, unable to trust any fact whatsoever."
Epistemological Alienation by Dumu The Void March 11, 2026
Methodological Alienation
The feeling that the methods used by experts to gain knowledge are so complex and inaccessible that they might as well be magic. It’s the sense of alienation a non-coder feels when looking at a wall of Python script, or a layperson feels when reading a dense statistical analysis. This alienation can foster resentment and a belief that the experts are hiding something behind their complicated jargon, rather than simply using necessary tools.
Example: "Looking at the climate models, I felt a wave of Methodological Alienation. It was all Greek to me, so I just assumed they were making it up."
Methodological Alienation by Dumu The Void March 11, 2026