BiasInformation Bias · Entry 1
Common Source Bias – when everyone repeats the same thing
You watch the news, read blogs, study research – and everywhere you see the same thing? It seems like solid information, but if all sources refer to the same origin, it’s just an echo, not verification.
Where it can show up
- News – different headlines, but all reporting the same study.
- Reviews – bloggers praise a new gadget, but they all rely on the same press release.
- Research – dozens of studies confirm a hypothesis, but they all use the same dataset.
A practical countermeasure
- Check the original source – where did the information come from?
- Compare methodologies – are the studies truly independent?
- Think critically – if everyone is saying the same thing, it doesn’t always mean it's true.
Keep exploring
Availability HeuristicSelection Bias – when the sample doesn’t reflect realityan error that occurs when data is not randomly selected and doesn’t reflect reality.Read entry Extension NeglectBase Rate Fallacy – when you ignore general statistics for a specific casewhen general probabilities are ignored in favor of specific cases, even when statistics provide a more accurate prediction.Read entry Availability HeuristicFrequency Illusion – when something new suddenly appears everywherea cognitive bias that makes us think something appears more frequently than before, when in reality we’ve just started noticing it.Read entry
