1/ Much to chew on in this brilliant episode bit.ly/2QijqQL of @sfiscience podcast where @rajivatbarnard is interviewed on the complex system of bias, crime, and criminal justice in the US. Some insights for me...
2/ Stereotyping is a cognitive necessity, but we can become more aware of the process and can be more willing to question the stereotypes that we hold. e.g. 'Pseudosecular' and 'Bhakts' are buckets we put people into.. but does it capture the tapestry of thoughts in these groups?
3/ People who are negatively stereotyped face a lot of dangers in our society. Thus police may use more force against blacks. e.g. Was Jamia at the receiving end perceived as a 'Muslim protest'? See what Mukul Kesavan says- bit.ly/2ZmmqzM
4/ A tall black grad student at U Chicago reported how others would be afraid of him on his walks by the lake. When he started whistling Vivaldi and Beatles pieces; people became friendly; if he made no effort to send 'friendly signals', people were terrified.
5/ Should stereotyped groups have to put in extra effort like he did to be understood better? Can others make more of an effort to challenge their stereotypes, or is the 'risk' of doing so high?
6/ The way we seek out information makes it hard to come to an agreement. It is well known that we seek information that confirms our bias.
7/ But even if we are not seeking to do that, we prefer information where we know where the author is 'coming from' rather than a well informed source whose bias we are not aware of... We prefer transparent biases that we can account for. This happens both online and offline 
8/ Coming to my own musings, I think if the focus is on 'actionable' questions to create something and discussions are structured in a way to 'cue' consensus, it may be possible to go towards agreement.
9/ The Taiwan govt used a platform that structured online discussions in such a way. Read bit.ly/2t0aTu0 Pol.is has no reply button – so no trolling. No echo-chambers, replaced by an attitudes map showing you where you are in relation to everyone else.
10/ The platform gives more visibility to the most consensual ones. The ones that get attention are those that find support not only in one cluster, but across other groups, too. This is something that really needs to be pursued!
Example of how views were highlighted to promote consensus in Taiwan
unroll @threadreaderapp
