Trust versus Bias

🎯 Goals

• Understand the difference between trust and bias
• Learn how to use trust wisely without falling into bias
• Apply a simple checklist to evaluate your own thinking

🤔 What?

Trust is a reasoned confidence in something, often based on experience or evidence.
Bias is an unreasoned or automatic tendency to favor or disfavor something, even in the face of better evidence.

🔍 Why It Matters

• Trust helps us make efficient decisions in a complex world.
• Bias leads to flawed decisions by filtering out valid alternatives.
• Knowing the difference helps us stay open-minded and accurate.

📊 Examples

Situation	Trust or Bias?	Why?
You use Wikipedia for an overview and check sources	Trust	You’re aware and verify important claims
You assume Wikipedia is always right	Bias	Blind confidence without checking
You listen to a doctor but also get a second opinion	Trust	Reasoned confidence, not blind belief
You always agree with your favorite political figure	Bias	You ignore counter-evidence

✅ Checklist: Is My Trust Becoming Bias?

• Do I assume the source is accurate without checking evidence?
• Do I dismiss other sources just because they differ?
• Have I stopped asking, “How do they know this?”
• Am I relying on the source for all types of questions?
• Do I feel defensive when someone critiques it?
• Am I using it mainly because it’s familiar?

💡 How to Build Healthy Trust

• Use sources that are transparent, verifiable, and regularly updated
• Be open to alternatives, especially when the stakes are high
• When in doubt, triangulate: compare multiple trustworthy sources
• Reflect: Am I trusting based on logic, or am I stuck in a habit?

✅ Summary

• Trust is useful when it’s based on evidence and reflection.
• Bias is harmful when it blocks better options.
• Use trust as a tool, not as a shield.