While information soars around us all day long. We ingest it without really taking it all in and/or looking further into a topic because we usually have a particularly held belief that, what we knew already, HAD to be close to the truth.
This is the availability heuristic.
The availability heuristic is our ability to recall similar information from a previous example or experience. The influence of these similar examples or experiences from the past has a meaningful effect (or bias) on our assessment of a complex topic, concept, method or decision.
Take, for example, the short mind tricks that our grade school teachers taught us in order to comprehend a complex subject. Like King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk. Which is a way to remember which prefix goes with a particular number or decimal place.
These heuristics worked by allowing us to recall the information needed to pass the test quicker. This was a perfect way to get us to think in such a way that we wouldn’t second guess ourselves on the test.
If you were like me, I was the student that always second guessed themself on tests (including while in college).
Social media networks and cable news networks, has made it very easy to ingest and share what those opinions are before we can study enough information about the subject to have a somewhat educated opinion.
This is my public service announcement to be aware of whom and what you are sharing to the world. The wrong people can get a hold of your information very quickly
Take a tiny break from social media and the news and input something more worthwhile and exciting.
