Factuality Bias

The bias where one assumes that their facts are simply factual—not selected, not interpreted, not framed, but just facts. Factuality Bias ignores that facts are always chosen (these facts matter, those don't), always framed (this context, not that), always presented from a perspective (here, not there). The bias treats facts as self-evident, self-explanatory, self-sufficient—when in reality, facts are always interpreted, always situated, always partial. Factuality Bias is what makes people say "just look at the facts" as if facts didn't need looking at, as if they spoke for themselves.

Example: "She presented her facts as if they were simply 'the facts.' Factuality Bias meant she never had to explain why these facts, why now, why in this order. They were just facts—self-evident, self-sufficient. When he pointed out that other facts existed, that the same facts could be interpreted differently, she dismissed him as 'denying facts.' She wasn't wrong; she was just incomplete."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Efficiency Bias

The cognitive bias where one assumes that their preferred measures of efficiency are simply "efficiency"—neutral, objective, universal—while dismissing other measures as irrelevant or biased. Efficiency Bias is what makes businesspeople assume that profit measures efficiency, that what's good for the bottom line is what works. It's what makes policymakers assume that cost-benefit analysis captures all relevant values. Efficiency Bias treats one construction of efficiency as the construction, one perspective as the perspective. It's the favorite bias of those who benefit from current definitions of efficiency, who don't want to ask "efficient for whom?"

Example: "He presented the profit numbers as proof of efficiency. Efficiency Bias meant he never had to consider environmental costs, worker well-being, community impact. His measure was the measure; everything else was secondary. When she pointed out what was excluded, he dismissed her concerns as 'not relevant to efficiency.' The bias was invisible to him, which is how it worked."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Knowledge Bias

The systematic distortion that occurs because what we know shapes how we see. Unlike simple ignorance, which is absence of knowledge, Knowledge Bias is the skew introduced by the specific knowledge we do have. Learning economics makes you see market forces everywhere; learning psychology makes you see cognitive biases everywhere; learning trauma theory makes you see wounds everywhere. Each framework illuminates some things and casts shadows on others. Knowledge Bias isn't a failure—it's the inevitable cost of having any perspective at all. The question is whether you know your perspective's price.

"Ever since I learned about attachment theory, I see anxious and avoidant patterns in every relationship, including my goldfish." That's Knowledge Bias: when your tools shape what you're able to see, and also what you're unable to unsee.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 22, 2026

Unbiased Bias

The most dangerous bias of all: the fervent belief that you are completely free of bias. It's the epistemological equivalent of a fish discovering water and declaring it doesn't exist. The Unbiased Bias operates as a force field that makes genuine self-reflection impossible because why would you examine something you're certain you don't have? This meta-bias allows otherwise intelligent people to hold the most absurd positions with utter confidence, convinced that their views aren't opinions but simply reality speaking through them. Every criticism bounces off because criticism implies bias, and they're unbiased—checkmate.

"I'm not like those biased people—I just look at the facts logically," he said, moments before explaining why his childhood trauma, cultural conditioning, and economic self-interest had nothing to do with his political views. That's Unbiased Bias: the blind spot so large it becomes a worldview.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 22, 2026

Logical Biases

Systematic distortions in reasoning that arise not from breaking logical rules but from the way logical systems themselves are constructed, selected, and applied. Unlike cognitive biases (which are psychological), Logical Biases are built into the logic we use—the assumptions that certain logical forms are universally valid, that classical logic is the only logic, that formal validity guarantees truth. Logical Biases include: preferring deductive over inductive reasoning even when deduction isn't appropriate; treating logical consistency as the highest virtue when life requires contradiction; assuming that what's logically possible is actually possible. Logical Biases are what happen when logic becomes ideology—when the tool becomes the master.

Logical Biases "He keeps demanding that my ethical argument be deductively valid. That's Logical Bias—applying deductive standards to ethics, which isn't deductive. His logic biases him against forms of reasoning that don't fit his logical framework. Logic should serve inquiry, not constrain it. When logic becomes a bias, it stops being logic."

by Dumu The Void March 1, 2026

Logic Biases

A variant of Logical Biases, emphasizing biases that affect how we use and evaluate logic itself. Logic Biases include: treating logic as neutral when it's culturally specific; assuming that logical skill equals intelligence; privileging logical argument over other forms of knowing; using logic as a weapon rather than a tool. Logic Biases are meta-biases—biases about logic, not just in logic. They shape who gets heard, what counts as reasonable, and which conclusions are considered valid.

Logic Biases "He thinks he's won every argument because he's 'more logical.' That's Logic Bias—treating his particular logical style as universal reason. But his logic is one logic among many, and his bias makes him blind to other ways of reasoning. Logic isn't a contest; it's a conversation. Logic biases turn conversation into combat."

by Dumu The Void March 1, 2026

Rational Biases

Systematic distortions that arise from the way rationality is defined, valued, and deployed in different contexts. Rational Biases include: assuming that rationality is universal rather than culturally specific; treating emotional responses as inherently irrational; privileging instrumental reason (means-end calculation) over other forms of reason; assuming that rational actors exist in economic theory; using "rational" as a term of approval rather than a description. Rational Biases shape not just how we think but how we judge thinking—in ourselves and others.

Rational Biases "She called his response 'emotional' and therefore irrational. That's Rational Bias—assuming emotion and reason are opposites. But emotions can be rational responses to situations; reason without emotion is calculation without wisdom. Rational biases make us miss the rationality in feeling and the feeling in rationality."

by Dumu The Void March 1, 2026