Definitions by Dumu The Void
Chain Bias
A cognitive bias that conceives of non‑scientific beliefs as links in a chain: once you accept one link, you are inevitably bound to the next, eventually being dragged down by the whole chain. Chain Bias is closely related to Domino and Knock‑On biases, but it emphasizes the idea of connection—that all non‑scientific beliefs are secretly linked, so accepting one is accepting the entire system. The bias ignores that people often pick and choose beliefs eclectically, forming their own patchworks of ideas.
Example: “He believed that if you accept the possibility of ESP, you are logically committed to accepting all forms of pseudoscience—Chain Bias confusing correlation in his own mind with necessity in everyone else’s.”
Chain Bias by Dumu The Void March 25, 2026
Contagion Bias
A bias derived from the Scientific Slippery Slope that treats non‑scientific ideas as infectious diseases that spread from mind to mind, with the first exposure acting as a “carrier” that infects the host and makes them susceptible to further infection. Contagion Bias often appears in discussions about media literacy or education, where any curriculum that includes non‑scientific content is framed as a “vector” spreading irrationality. It ignores that ideas are not diseases; people evaluate, filter, and selectively adopt beliefs based on context, community, and personal values.
Example: “She argued that even mentioning astrology in class would contaminate students’ minds—Contagion Bias treating a cultural concept as a pathogen that requires quarantine.”
Contagion Bias by Dumu The Void March 25, 2026
Domino Bias
A cognitive bias modeled on the domino effect: once the first domino (acceptance of a “small” pseudoscience) falls, a chain reaction will inevitably knock down all subsequent dominos (more dangerous beliefs). Domino Bias assumes an irreversible, linear progression that leaves no room for intervention or independent judgment. It is a favorite of rhetorical alarmists who argue that any tolerance for non‑scientific ideas will lead inexorably to the collapse of rational society. The bias ignores that people can and do stop chains of reasoning at will.
Example: “He warned that using a homeopathic cold remedy was the first domino—next would be vaccine refusal, then abandoning modern medicine entirely. Domino Bias treating a single choice as an unstoppable cascade.”
Domino Bias by Dumu The Void March 25, 2026
Ripple Bias
A cognitive bias derived from the Scientific Slippery Slope, using the metaphor of a stone dropped in water: a single small acceptance of non‑scientific ideas creates ripples that expand outward, eventually affecting unrelated areas of thought. The bias assumes that accepting one “irrational” claim makes one more likely to accept others, even across completely different domains (e.g., believing in acupuncture leads to believing in UFOs). Research on actual belief systems shows such cross‑domain contagion is rare; people compartmentalize. Ripple Bias is often deployed to argue against any compromise with “pseudoscience” in public discourse.
Example: “He claimed that letting the school teach yoga would cause ripple bias—first crystals, then astrology, then flat‑earth—though no such cascade has ever been documented.”
Ripple Bias by Dumu The Void March 25, 2026
Critical Thinking Bias
A bias that conflates “critical thinking” with a specific worldview—namely, strict scientific materialism—and treats any deviation as a failure of critical thinking itself. Derived from the Scientific Slippery Slope, it holds that genuine critical thinkers will never accept any non‑scientific claim, no matter how modest or culturally grounded. Those who do are labeled as having “abandoned” critical thinking, regardless of their actual reasoning skills in other domains. The bias weaponizes the term “critical thinking” to enforce ideological conformity rather than to describe a set of transferable reasoning abilities.
Example: “He dismissed her interest in traditional herbal remedies as a complete failure of critical thinking—Critical Thinking Bias in action, reducing a nuanced set of skills to a litmus test of approved beliefs.”
Critical Thinking Bias by Dumu The Void March 25, 2026
Erosion Bias
A cognitive bias derived from the Scientific Slippery Slope, framing the acceptance of any non‑scientific claim as a gradual erosion of rational capacity. The metaphor is geological: small, seemingly harmless inroads of “irrationality” wear away the bedrock of critical thinking until the whole structure collapses. Erosion Bias ignores that critical thinking is not a uniform layer that can be evenly worn down; people can be skeptical in one domain and traditional in another without losing overall reasoning ability. It is often used to argue against any form of religious or spiritual education in secular settings.
Example: “The school board argued that teaching mindfulness meditation would cause erosion bias, gradually wearing away students’ ability to distinguish science from superstition—despite evidence that meditation does no such thing.”
Erosion Bias by Dumu The Void March 25, 2026
Lower Defense Bias
A close variant of Low Defense Bias, emphasizing the process of defense reduction. It posits that each encounter with non‑scientific ideas incrementally reduces a person’s resistance to pseudoscience, eventually reaching a threshold where critical thinking collapses. The bias is often used in discussions about public science communication, where advocates treat any engagement with alternative medicine as a step down a slope toward total rejection of evidence‑based medicine. Like its counterpart, it assumes a linear, inevitable progression that research does not support.
Example: “He claimed that using acupuncture for back pain would lower her defenses against homeopathy, then against vaccine denial—Lower Defense Bias assuming a chain reaction that rarely happens in real life.”
Lower Defense Bias by Dumu The Void March 25, 2026