User:Jenhawk777

• On Neutrality

I agree with the very high priority Wikipedia places on neutrality. In the years I've been here, I have learned that my fellow WP editors are generally just as committed to upholding this standard as I am. It's really quite an amazing thing when you stop and think about it - millions of people setting aside personal beliefs and opinions to uphold a standard that goes against natural tendencies.

For better—and for worse — we are all influenced by our culture, race, nationality, gender, and ethics. We are all historically situated. The good news is that does not have to prevent neutrality and objectivity.

Take Olympic judges for example. They must overcome their national biases to be decent judges, and part of that is the presence of the other judges from whom they want the same thing. As historian Thomas L. Haskell explains, "even a polemicist, deeply and fixedly committed" can cultivate neutrality insofar as they are willing to enter in to even a little empathy for the opposing view.

How exactly?

• I. Be wary of overconfidence.

• "The more certain you are about an opinion, the more likely you are to employ confirmation bias... Sometimes the best time to expose yourself to opposing views is when you are most certain you already have all the information you need". [1]
• "When you find evidence that contradicts your opinion, don’t assume you must either reject the evidence or abandon your opinion. Instead, consider modifying aspects of your original theory."

• II. Confront all data

• Test Yourself by looking for contrary evidence.
• Leave behind the way we might prefer things to be and deal with the way things are.
• Pure detachment is not possible, but, as economist Robert Solow says, “Just because a perfectly aseptic environment is impossible doesn’t mean one should conduct surgery in a sewer.”

• III. Use Wikipedia's just and reasonable Method.

• Vet your sources.
• Learn how to recognize if an author neglects facts, fails to acknowledge opposing arguments, or dismisses contradictory studies. Their bias doesn't excuse yours.

• IV. Use the same standard for all

• Seek Consensus Submit your work to the unsympathetic. Listen. Peer reviews are worth their weight in gold.

• V. No Personal attacks

• Don't make them, don't let others get away with them. Contact an admin when needed. This is our online home, and we must all maintain it.
• However, we must also be willing to listen to criticism and carefully consider it. We don't have to automatically agree - or disagree - but we should at least check it out for the sake of our own learning and maturing.
• Admitting error doesn't actually cost anything. All of us are more than any one mistake.

• VI. Enjoy being here. This is a wonderful opportunity. A thousand blessings on Jimmy Wales!

• Cheers to all my fellow Wikipedian's! and Happy editing! Jenhawk777 (talk) 21:06, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

• • These steps are taken from the work of Michael Licona, from the Forbes Coaches Council on leadership: 15 Steps You Can Take To Fight Unconscious Bias[2]; and from The Business Journal's Tips for overcoming and neutralizing your confirmation bias[3].