Welcome, You are here at the Beacon! I am your host David Darab…prepare to have your Blind Spots Illuminated!So…It’s very appropriate, since our Team here at OmniStar Financial and Dental Systems Optimization are Experts in Blind Spots, that we devote this episode to Cognitive Biases which create Blind Spots.Let’s kick off our discussion with a quote from one of my favorite thinkers, Professor Richard Feynman, A theoretical Physicist, Exceptional Teacher, and Contributor to the Manhattan Project.> “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”> Richard P. FeynmanIt is possible for people to be confused or unaware about something rather important. The fact that most people don’t know they are missing it doesn’t make it any less of a problem for them or their practices.This is the best definition of a Blind Spot!For those of us that remember the movie City Slickers, you may recall the main character played by Billy Crystal, went out West with his friends to find themselves during a midlife crisis. There he meets his guide, Curly, played by Jack Palance, a rough and leathery cattle rancher that will show them all a thing or two. Curly teaches them about the “one thing”, the secret of life that everyone must figure out for him or herself!Well, we all have “one thing” that we carry around that is unique to us, and it too is so very important to figure out. This one thing is with us at all times, at every twist and turn life throws at us. Every time we are facing a challenge or problem that requires us to make a decision this one thing is there, hiding silently, but contributing loudly to our choices, direction, and decisions…that one thing is our Cognitive Bias. It is unique to each one of us. If we are not aware of its presence or its powerful influence it creates Blind spots. A blind spot is something that is critically important even though we are unaware of it. The fact that you don’t know you are missing it doesn’t make it any less important. In fact, because you are unaware it becomes even more important.Here at OmniStar, it’s our Tag Line “Illuminating Blind Spots”. We consider it Job #1 to help you find, Illuminate and see your Blind Spots! It’s what we do because you can’t see your blind spots alone.“We see what you are incapable of… that's what we do.” David Darab, DDS, MBACognitive Biases affect how we make everyday decisions, big and small as well as how we think about and invest our money and create our wealth.A cognitive bias is an error in cognition that arises in a person’s line of reasoning when decision-making is flawed by personal beliefs.When the Bias is unseen by the individual but seen by others, it is a Blind Spot.The Cure here is recognizing and acknowledging that they exist. Once you become aware of these Cognitive Biases they are no longer Blind Spots.I am subject to this, as I bet you are too, in the areas of clinical practice, business decisions as well as finances and investing.I tend to “cubbyhole” things, giving a lot of weight to my time in the business. I think to myself…I have done this for 30 years, I have seen everything, I should be good to go! But that is not always the case. Just because it looks the same doesn’t make it the same. I can still find myself in “the ditch” when I overlooked a small feature or minor detail that has snuck up and “bit” me. So let’s dig deeper here.Let’s Illuminate for you what Cognitive Biases Exist so they will be less likely to create Blind Spots!Understanding Cognitive Biases first starts with understanding Heuristics.So what are Heuristics??Heuristics are mental shortcuts that ease the cognitive load of making a decision, we use them all time. … Examples of heuristics include rules of thumb, an educated guess, or been there and done that!When considering the term “Cognitive Biases”, it’s important to know that there is an overlap between cognitive biases and heuristics. At times these two terms are used interchangeably but they are not exactly the same.In his book, *Thinking, Fast and Slow*, Professor Daniel Kahneman defines heuristics as“a simple procedure that helps find adequate, though often imperfect, answers to difficult questions.”He also defines the relationship between Cognitive Biases and Heuristics as follows:“… cognitive biases stem from the reliance on judgmental heuristics.”Putting this together we see that…Heuristics are the “shortcuts” we use to reduce complexity in judgment and choice, Cognitive Biases result from the gaps between what “should be” and the Heuristically determined behavior.According to the Cognitive Bias Codex, there are an estimated 180 cognitive biases. This codex is a useful tool for visually representing all of the known biases that exist to date.The biases are arranged in a circle and can be divided into...
