Stephen J. Dubner Quotes

I try not to be overly analytical.

There is nothing respecting which a man may be so long unconscious as of the extent and strength of his prejudices.

It's sad that we never get trained to leave assumptions behind.

Complete objectivity is not an option. We are all subjective about the way we respond to 'what is,' whether it's the people we encounter, the circumstances in our lives, or ourselves. What we can do is reduce our subjectivity - what I call 'I see, therefore it is.'

You will never succeed in getting at the truth if you know, ahead of time, what the truth ought to be

Values are faithfully applied to the facts before us, while ideology overrides whatever facts call theory into question.

Facts matter, especially when they conflict with dogma and preconceived notions. Pretending otherwise has consequences.

Being unbiased is a lot like being humble: as soon as you think you are, you aren’t. Neither are a finite state of being but a continuous struggle to not allow our perspectives poison our opinions.

Set aside a half hour or an hour to rethink the way you make decisions, the habits you have, the biases you may have. And if you think of things, if you come with a little bit of a blank slate and be willing to acknowledge what you don't know, and you'd be willing to think like a child, I think it'll help not only individuals but society at large.

It is doubtless impossible to approach any human problems with a mind free from bias.

But anyone who thinks themselves genuinely unbiased is bound to be taken in.

We all have a tendency to think that the world must conform to our prejudices. The opposite view involves some effort of thought, and most people would die sooner than think in fact they do so.

There is an almost universal tendency, perhaps an inborn tendency, to suspect the good faith of a man who holds opinions that differ from our own opinions. It obviously endangers the freedom and the objectivity of our discussion if we attack a person instead of attacking an opinion or, more precisely, a theory.

The indoctrination is so deep that educated people think they’re being objective.

Objective leaders identify their unproductive mental models and tweak them for greater effectiveness.

You have to do a lot of listening, you don't just learn out of yourself.

Education is the process of driving a set of prejudices down your throat.

With science and reason throughout history, what people believed turned out to be false. So I like to keep an open mind to all perspectives and learn and become more fully realised as a person. I just feel we're never going to know what the full picture is.

A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.

The greatest friend of truth is Time, her greatest enemy is Prejudice, and her constant companion is Humility.

It's not a case of: 'Read this book and then you'll think differently. I've written this book, and I don't think differently.

I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them.

I think that part of being a good journalist, part of being an awake member of the world you're in, is to view yourself as an outsider, and I always have, to some degree.

Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized.

Some readers allow their prejudices to blind them. A good reader knows how to disregard inappropriate responses.