Debate Blind Spot

The failure to realize when you are no longer engaging in a good-faith debate to explore an issue, but are instead performing for an audience, protecting your status, or simply trying to exhaust your opponent. You believe you're having a noble battle of ideas, but you're blind to your own tactics of derailing, goalpost-moving, and rhetorical point-scoring that have destroyed any chance of mutual understanding.

Example: "The online thread was a cesspool because of debate blind spot. Both sides thought they were valiantly debating science. In reality, they were just dumping pre-written talking points, hunting for 'owns,' and playing to their respective follower bases. The blind spot was their shared belief this was a debate, when it was really two separate, angry monologues being broadcast at each other."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Observer Blind Spot Bias

A form of bias affecting even those attempting neutrality, where an observer (a journalist, a reviewer, a judge) subconsciously filters information to only register data that confirms their pre-existing narrative or desired outcome. They believe they're being fair, but their perception has a "spot" that's blind to inconvenient facts. This is especially dangerous because the observer's perceived impartiality lends false credibility to their skewed interpretation.

Example: A journalist covering a polarizing protest aims for neutrality. However, due to Observer Blind Spot Bias, they only see and report on the handful of violent acts by one side, framing the entire event as a riot, while their blind spot prevents them from even noticing the peaceful majority and the provocative actions of police, crafting a "balanced" report that's subtly biased.

by Dumu The Void February 4, 2026

Inverted Blind Spot Bias

The cognitive flaw where an individual is hyper-vigilant and excessively critical about potential biases, methodological weaknesses, or assumptions in opposing viewpoints or rival paradigms, while remaining completely oblivious to the same—or even more severe—flaws within their own favored position. It inverts the classic blind spot: you can't see the problems in your own "objective" lens because you're so busy polishing it to spot dust on everyone else's.

Example: A staunch materialist neuroscientist meticulously critiques a consciousness study for any hint of dualist language, labeling it unscientific. Yet, they remain utterly blind to their own Inverted Blind Spot Bias: their unexamined assumption that subjective experience must be fully reducible to neural activity is itself a non-provable metaphysical stance, not a neutral scientific fact.

by Dumu The Void February 4, 2026