Hidden Bias In Blindspot

I have always strived to be a good person and to not judge people by how they appear. After reading the book: Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald, I have realized that all this time that I have been striving to be a good person, I have actually been judging them due to a part of my brain that I had no idea existed until now, it is called my “blindspot”. In the book Mahzarin and Anthony call a person’s hidden bias their “blindspot”. That is due to one thinking they are a good person, but in the blindspot of their brain they are actually judging each person by their weight, race, sex, and other characteristics that one may think of.

At the very beginning of the book Mahzarin and Anthony
The father dies at the scene and the boy, badly injured, is rushed to the hospital. In the operating room, the surgeon looks at the boy and says, “I can’t operate on this boy. He is my son.” How can this be?(pg.71)”. I’m embarrassed to admit that at first I was very confused, but then I realised that the surgeon is the boy’s mother. Even though I am a female, I do admit that I was being sexist by presuming that the surgeon was a male. Unconsciously my brain was putting the role of a surgeon as a dominant male role rather than a female. Even though a female or male has the capability to do any job of their choice, due to the mindbugs in our brains, make it seem as if some occupations are more dominant to male, as of a house and family is to a
According to the book, “ The idea of outsmarting the machine captures the essence of what we would like to do to meet a much bigger challenge: enable the human brain to outsmart the mindbugs that reside within it.(pg.146)”. If one was able to overcome the mindbugs, we then may be able to outsmart our own hidden biases, which could possibly lead to a diverse and respectful world. In order for this to work one needs to be committed to dealing with the problem and coming up with a solution. “The strategies available to avoid unintended discrimination resulting from hidden biases are less easily described than are the methods for avoiding collisions with vehicles that enter sideview mirrors’ blind spots.(pg166)”. As long as one keeps aware of their hidden bias, it will make dealing with one’s mindbugs that much easier, and with the help of Mahzarin and Anthony, one will know what to look for to make themselves a good person in one’s eyes.

After reading this book I have come to know myself better than what I had before. Even though throughout the book I was embarrassed by some of my reactions and answers to the mind boggling riddles that I was so quick to judge on. I would rather know that my hidden biases exist rather than unconsciously pretend that it isn’t there. At least now I can take responsibility for my actions and do what I can to change my hidden bias into a