(Confirmation bias has multiple parallels with Superstition)
Is the Study of "Threes" a practice in Confirmation Bias?
- or -
is Confirmation bias an exercised dualistic orientation?
It is of interest to note that those who resort to the use of Confirmation Bias as a tool of examination, give the impression of someone who is inherently disposed to voice a contrasting opinion much-like someone with a chip on their shoulder aching for a confrontation, since it is well known that the fastest way to get someone emotionally involved with you is through a pretentious combativeness.
It also is of interest to note that many people will shy away from a self-examination of their interest(s) by not subjecting it to some purported objective reality by what may be called the Confirmation Bias test, because they are fearful of finding something that may indicate they truly are biased in a negative way; whereby the circumstances bring-to-the-fore the legal standards of reasonable doubt/suspicion and probable cause requiring a closer scrutiny, thereby suggesting that they are not telling the truth. However, the legal standard labeled a Preponderance of Evidence can nullify a presumption of guilt brought against a defendant (which in the present case is the Threesology concept) by the accuser(s) voicing the Confirmation bias opinion.
On this page, let's take a look at the Threesology site/concept through the eyes of 3 different AI services with respect to the idea of Confirmation Bias and its presumed superior model of logic. Initially, let us look at some definitions presented in a "Biased" pattern-of-three format, though any number of examples could be claimed as a bias... in other words, shame on me for using yet another example of a pattern-of-three:
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Confirmation bias: A (suspected) tendency of people to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs. This biased approach to decision making is largely unintentional, and it results in a person ignoring information that is inconsistent with their beliefs. These beliefs can include a person's expectations in a given situation and their predictions about a particular outcome. People are especially likely to process information to support their own beliefs when an issue is highly important or self-relevant.
- Wikipedia article: Confirmation bias (also confirmatory bias, my-side bias, or congeniality
bias) is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. People display
this bias when they select information that supports their views, ignoring contrary information or when they interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their
existing attitudes. The effect is strongest for desired outcomes, for emotionally charged issues, and for deeply entrenched beliefs.
- 3 headings are used to present a group of dichotomies labeled as a foursome of specific effects:
- Biased search for information.
- Biased interpretation of this information.
- Biased memory recall have been invoked to explain four specific effects:
- Attitude polarization (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence)
- Belief perseverance (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false)
- The irrational primacy effect (a greater reliance on information encountered early in a series)
- Illusory correlation (when people falsely perceive an association between two events or situations).
- 3 headings are used to present a group of dichotomies labeled as a foursome of specific effects:
- What Is Confirmation Bias?: (It is the tendency to seek out and prefer information
that supports our preexisting beliefs. As a result, we tend to ignore any information that contradicts those beliefs.) article by Kassiani Nikolopoulou.
- 3 main ways that people display confirmation bias:
- Selective search
- Selective interpretation
- Selective recall
- 3 main ways that people display confirmation bias:
Here is a list of could-be biases:
- If I made a list of examples containing the numbers 0-100, someone could describe my efforts as a Confirmation Bias because I exclude other numbers just to focus on these.
- If I say a rose would smell just as sweet with any other name, someone might claim me as being biased in favor of roses when there are other flowers to choose from.
- If I say all the world's a stage and life is but the staging and we humans its primary actors; multiple people might well call me biased, discriminatory, and prejudiced against the millions of other insect, reptile, bird, quadruped, fish and primate life forms.
- If I claim all things are numbers, I am being biased if I only favor numbers and not colors, geometric patterns, subtitle energies, etc...
- If I argue that I specialize in a given political orientation, or a given religion, or a given skill... someone can still claim I am being biased, particularly if they prefer some other skill which they are good at.
And yes, even believing in one God can be claimed to be biased because of human limitations of descriptions. Yet, why do so many humans see only one god in everything and describe it with a characteristic (3 Os) Trio of Omnipotent- Omniscient- Omnipresent? Is this not a bias? In fact, since all beliefs can be viewed as a bias, how does humanity overcome a limitation of what appears to be a congenitally influenced behavioral characteristic if it is an inherent dichotomy?
If I make any claim which suggests to someone an inclusivity, they might want to point out they they and some supposed others don't feel they belong to any group. For example, if I say that all humans are the same species, some homosexuals may claim this to be a bias because they view themselves as a 3rd species.
Pointedly, any single interest you may have or not have, can be viewed as a bias that is supported by whatever information (or absence thereof) is used to assist in confirming the choice as being correct... or not correct... or some point between the two extremes.
The idea of "Confirmation Bias" was coined and developed by the Cognitive Psychologist Peter Wason, whose idea can be suggested as an expressed chip-on-the-shoulder as well as a chip-off-the-old-block of dichotomous thinkers which are pervasive in multiple academic circles and realized by taking a look at the ideological reality evident in the perpetuated use of Persistent Dichotomies, which have become so institutionalized that if humanity experiences a developmental shift into a "threes" consciousness, those experiencing such a shift may well come into conflict with the "Establishment" to the extent they seek refuge elsewhere and if not, may well be labeled a person needing physical or chemical restraints and "correction" to bring them inline with the so-called normal public and publicly practiced institutions... unless the person absconds to some relative sanctuary called the habituations of believing in the perpetrated and perpetuated lies of businesses, governments, religions and hallowed halls of academia; or otherwise indulge in the legalized addictions of drinking alcohol, use of tobacco, getting their coffee fix, or spirituality fix, or criminal activity fix, or believing in the many falsehoods of the medical establishment so as to make millions of physicians wealthy and politically strong... to name but a few of the activities caused by a culture steeped in the culture of various dichotomies that everyone is expected to participate in.
However, like so many other ideas, "confirmation bias" has its detractors. Here is one example:
- The Curious Case of Confirmation Bias: The concept of confirmation bias has passed its sell-by date. by Gary Klein Ph.D., May 5th, 2019.
Interestingly, the originator of the Confirmation bias idea used a Triple patterned enumeration values of "two" portrayed in the sequence "2- 4- 6" in his classic experiment, in which the design of many experiments set the stage for copy-cat synchronistic to occur with participants who are culturally influenced to engage in a "follow the leader" mode of behavior as an obliging member of a given set of social circumstances where there often exists one or more rebellious actors as seen in multiple classrooms; and experiments are set up with gauging the effectiveness of rebellious behavior and claiming it as a superior model of original thinking... because the experimenters think their experiment is an exercise in their own originality because they perceive themselves to be a non-typical thinker and praise those who are perceived as being much like themselves. This could be viewed as an example of confirmation bias if the idea of a pattern-of-three was seen as a standard used by many researchers who have copied other researchers in a similar usage. Due to the widespread (albeit largely unacknowledged) use of dichotomous thinking (such as the binary code in computers by which browser AI's gather information to provide supposedly "unbiased" reviews, it is no wonder that it is easy to claim that everyone at one time or another indulges in the use of confirmation bias. This is the way we are brought up and taught to interact with others and perceive reality. Every single institution, even those that strive for the "nth" value of truth and honesty, engages in confirmation bias because it is a practiced model of thinking and navigating day-to-day reality.
However, confirmation bias is itself a confirmed bias used by its adherents to find faults and attempt to suggest an ability to mitigate the influences of a culture which has an expectation that everyone sees the world through a lens of dichotomization. Confirmation bias is an idea proposed to step beyond the common inclination to use dichotomization in order to achieve a singularity... a purity of thought that somewhere exists in an unnamed third alternative... seen in other instances:
- Proponents of the Yin/Yang dichotomy proposed the idea of a Trichotomy in the view of I-Ching formulated triads (but they are actually Byads).
- Proponents of the dualities in Mathematics and Psychology try to develop three-patterned or triangulated concepts.
- Proponents of the binary language used in computers seek to supplant this with a new generation of Quantum computers utilizing a Trinary/Ternary language.
- Proponents of Democracy and other political ideologies propose them as a step beyond and above the frequently practiced dichotomy of political opposition.
Neither knowledge of or an expressed reference to Confirmation Bias asserts that a given proposer/proponent is less biased... when they simply are biased in another way due to the human culture inclination to use dichotomies in one fashion or another. The idea of Confirmation bias is just another example of the various institutionalized models of dichotomy in use and are in some respects attempting to probe their way into expressing a third component as a separate or combined entity. In other words, if you believe that a knowledge and application thereof suggests you are attempting to practice a greater clarity of thought and not simply use it as an adversarial tool of investigation and corresponding comparison, belies the fact that you overlook how deeply ingrained the use of dichotomies is and the different ways in which humanity is attempting to break free of the pattern. Nonetheless, Confirmation Bias is just another construct of the unacknowledged presence of dichotomization and humanity's efforts to exceed this limitation used as a constraint and conservation, though the presence of three families of fundamental particles, a triplet code in DNA, living on the 3rd planet, development of three germ layers, etc., indicates the possibility and potentiality for further development in humanity's ability to think with greater clarity.
- Confirmation bias can be described as a model of a true dichotomy:
- Information may be favored that aligns with one's existing beliefs or values, while ignoring or undervaluing information that challenges them.
- Only information with an established dichotomy may be valued for further consideration.
- Legendary dualities (like the following examples) may be avoided so as to promote original hypothesis:
- Nature/Nurture controversy
- End of the world and Rapture controversy
- Beginning of life controversy
- Chicken and Egg controversy
- Moral/Immoral controversy
- Heaven/Hell controversy
- etc...
- Confirmation bias can be described as a model of a false dichotomy:
- Individual may individually produce a dichotomy out of a single issue, thereby artificializing a contention.
- Individuals may be inclined to perceive a clear division between opposing viewpoints, which is not necessarily present.
- Individuals may only see two sides of an issue, ignoring the possibility of other viewpoints or evidence that could be considered.
When the topic of "Confirmation bias" is applied to the Threesology site and concept, it is generally thought that a collection of proposed "pattern-of-three" examples with the exclusion of other patterns is a prime candidate for the topic of being biased. However, by this standard of definition, any collection of ideas of any topic with the exclusion of other ideas can be considered biased. Be it a discussion about physics, mathematics, linguistics, grocery shopping, etc... Andy singular discussion about any singular topic, or even a handful of topics can be described as a bias. Take for example someone collecting the "stats" (statistics) of baseball players and not the stats of any other sport. Are they not biased? Or how about a person studying Matematics as their primary interest. Can we not consider them to be biased when there are multiple other courses one can apply time and effort to? Or how about a preference for a given type of beverage, vitamin regime, music, entertainment, drug, coffee, food, wardrobe, vehicle or job/career field? Do many of us not engage in the practice of confirmation bias and that upon becoming aware of it, altering our behavior against such a tendency does not necessarily or automatically promote a better situation? Are not many biased towards the use of Democracy and yet upon closer examination come to realize no one is actually practicing a Democracy without defining it in terms of some personal interest or cultural application?
So, let it be stated that just because I list a given type of three-pattern doesn't mean I advocated what the pattern may suggest to a given reader. Nor does a collection of "threes" indicated I am insensitive to other patterns, both in number or otherwise. If I make suggestions regarding "threes", it does not mean I hold a steadfast belief in the suggestion or that I am inflexible about altering the suggestion when confronted by alternative information. And nor should the reader be swayed into believing I practice a certain orientation (scientific or otherwise) just becaese a browser's AI makes such a claim.
Opera's AI starts off with a general theme about confirmation bias but can't settle into the presence of an actual instance of confirmation bias though it alludes to the possibility that it can occur. The 2nd "Deep Dive" option is a very biased interpretation because it makes claims about Threesology presenting claims that it:
- Seeks only threes but ignores other patterns. This is clearly false if you read the pages at the site in their entirety.
- Uses a selective interpretation... This too is clearly false when many of its examples are those from the interpretations of multiple others.
- Forces the pattern (of three) such as pointing out a 3 and one... This too is incorrect when the complimentary division provides substantial examples
from multiple subjects to confirm that the use of "4" is an unrecognized historical bias of interpretation.
- In addition, another division is the 2 X 2 which occurs in some instances and may represent two dichotomies that have gone unrecognized by those using the two as a singular "4" model.
- Using groups of three to enhance memory while not using other enumerated patterns, despite the recurring information from multiple sources that
describes patterns-of-three as an effective tool of memorization and memory itself is frequently catalogued in a 3-part fashion known as the Atkinson-Shiffrin model consisting of:
- A sensory register, where sensory information enters memory.
- A short-term store, also called working memory or short-term memory, which receives and holds input from both the sensory register and the long-term store.
- A long-term store, where information which has been rehearsed (explained below) in the short-term store is held indefinitely.
- Ignoring counter-evidence: Forgetting or downplaying instances of alternative patterns... This also is a mistaken interpretation when it is stressed that even in the absence of patterns-of-three, this too provides information about the human cognitive structuring.
On this page in order of appearance:
- Confirmation bias in the Threesology concept?: [1]
- What are the real-world consequences of Threesology?: [2]
- This is a laughable perspective of an AI generated alternative query.
- Confirmation bias as an analogy for superstition: [3] 1st response: This is from the Microsoft edge general query. 2nd response: This is from the Microsoft copilot.
- Confirmation Bias as an Analogy for Superstition: [4] This is from the Duck Duck Go Search Assistant
- Confirmation Bias and Superstition have multiple parallels: [5]
- Examples from Microsoft Edge, Duck Duck Go, Opera.
[1] Internet query: "Confirmation bias in the Threesology concept?"
AI (overview) response:
[2] Internet query: "What are the real-world consequences of Threesology?"
[3] Internet query: "Confirmation bias as an analogy for superstition"
Microsoft Edge 1st General response: Confirmation bias can be seen as an analogy for superstition in the following way:
- Superstitions: People may attribute a particular action or event a special meaning or significance, believing it to bring good luck or bad fortune. This belief is often based on personal experiences or cultural beliefs, which can be reinforced by the placebo effect and confirmation bias.
- Superstitions: Superstitions can be seen as a form of superstition, where individuals may carry out rituals or use symbols to believe they have some form of control over outcomes, despite the lack of empirical evidence supporting these beliefs.
- Superstitions: Superstitions can also be viewed as a form of confirmation bias, where individuals selectively remember instances where a ritual or symbol has led to a positive outcome, reinforcing their belief in its efficacy.
- In both cases, the analogy highlights how confirmation bias can lead individuals to reinforce their beliefs and behaviors, even when there is no scientific evidence to support them. This can result in a cycle of belief and action, where superstitions become more entrenched as people continue to engage in them based on their beliefs.
Microsoft Edge 2nd General response (after closing the browser then using it again with the same query:):
- Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias where individuals selectively interpret information to favor beliefs they already hold. This bias can lead to a tendency to seek out evidence that supports existing views while ignoring contradictory information.
- In the context of superstition, confirmation bias can explain why people may attribute positive outcomes to certain rituals or beliefs. For instance, if a person believes that a specific action brings good luck, they might remember instances where that action coincided with a positive outcome, reinforcing their belief. This selective memory can create an illusion of control and strengthen superstitions over time.
Overall, confirmation bias illustrates how our preexisting beliefs can shape our perception and decision-making processes, particularly in the realm of superstitions and beliefs that lack empirical evidence.
Microsoft Edge Co-pilot:
This query was generated by the AI and is a supplement to the foregoing:
[4] Internet query: "Confirmation Bias and Superstition have multiple parallels"
Page initially created: Wednesday, Oct. 1st, 2025... 12:08 PM
Initial posting: Saturday, Oct. 4th, 2025... 10:33 AM