Cognitive science and bias research is fairly new. Most of the good stuff and fundamental observations arose from research since the 1960s. As the field continues to mature and knowledge becomes more nuanced, a more detailed, more accurate view of human cognition is coming into view.
The list (codex) is an attempt to convey the richness, and biological and social bases that human biases are grounded in. An excellent layman's overview of biases is described at the site Better Humans. The author of the overview, Buster Benson, argues that human biases are designed to deal with one or more of four basic problems: “Information overload, lack of meaning, the need to act fast, and how to know what needs to be remembered for later.”
Followers of B&B might recognize reference to some of those problems. The issue of lack of meaning in political rhetoric has been raised here several times. Misunderstanding is often grounded in subjective or personal meanings or definitions for core concepts that people use in politics. The other big problem is information overload and that is made worse by fake news, alt-facts, and other tactics of deceit. All of those are aspects of core constitutionally protected political free speech. For sophisticated spinners and liars, there is a whole menu of biases to play on to create false facts and realities using bogus logic or reasoning. The possibilities for deceit are sobering to say the least.
B&B orig: 4/14/17
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