A person's background, experiences and biases could easily factor into a recruiting decision. Would the review of resumes and other qualifications without names, addresses and other personal information help reduce bias? What about the interview? Is there a way to reduce bias there?

#SongLesson.....

From the song 'Two Sides To Every Story' by Keisha Cole:

I know there's always two sides to every story,
And I promise I will try to keep an open mind,
But there's some things you don't do,
Some things you don't say,
You're close to crossing that line,
You crossed that line.

http://youtu.be/cv8ekmTQBEE

We do need objectivity.... 

Study critiques schools over subjective grading
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/04/nation/na-grading-policy4

Google's Other Big Research Project: Curbing Its Own Prejudice
Even for a company that's trying to produce driverless cars and "solve" mortality, getting employees to overcome their own biases is a challenge.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/googles-other-moonshot/390558/

A child psychologist who was biased......

Movie: Nine Months
https://youtu.be/dVmOU8HPf_E

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don't know we don't know."
- Donald Rumsfeld

"False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often endure long; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, for everyone takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness; and when this is done, one path towards error is closed and the road to truth is often at the same time opened."
- Charles Darwin

"Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable."
- Mark Twain

"There are lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Mark Twain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies,_damned_lies,_and_statistics

Let's talk statistics......
Did you know that statistical analysis could be subjective?

Statistical Analysis and the Illusion of Objectivity
http://ileriseviye.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/statistical-analysis-and-the-illusion-of-objectivity/

"Science is based on the possibility of objectivity, on the possibility of different people checking out for themselves the observations made by others. Without that possibility, there is no empirical principle capable of deciding between different arguments and theories."
- Jose Padilha

What about beauty beneath the surface?
People may be far more than what they display "objectively".

Song 'Beauty And The Beast' by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgYEJHJXFB4

"What was once called the objective world is a sort of Rorschach ink blot, into which each culture, each system of science and religion, each type of personality, reads a meaning only remotely derived from the shape and color of the blot itself." 
- Lewis Mumford, "Orientation to Life," The Conduct of Life, 1951

Some jobs, such as a spy, are all about illusion....

Famous spy: James Bond
https://youtu.be/RNLLPbMThGM

It seemed that her husband created the perfect illusion.....

Movie: Double Jeopardy
https://youtu.be/m2REqMDEXNU

"Objectivity has about as much substance as the emperor's new clothes." 
- Connie Miller

"Anyone who can handle a needle convincingly can make us see a thread which is not there." 
- E.H. Gombrich, Art and Illusion, 1960

"The human understanding is like a false mirror, which, receiving rays irregularly, distorts and discolors the nature of things by mingling its own nature with it."
- Francis Bacon

"I'm not a slave to objectivity. I'm never quite sure what it means. And it means different things to different people."
- Peter Jennings

"I think objectivity is like this strange myth that people think you're supposed to achieve, but actually, the dirty little secret is that it's not attainable any more than pure justice is attainable by the courts."
- Sebastian Junger

"Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder."
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Beauty+is+in+the+eye+of+the+beholder

Is perfect objectivity possible?

"One man's trash is another man's treasure."
- Proverb

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lessonsproject/15525310591/

Objectivity involves considering the views of more than one group......

"This one goes out to all the daughter,
Love you all,
Whether you large or whether you slim,
Black, white, brown all dem we calling...
Love you all."
- From the song 'Ice Cream' by Coalishun featuring Rupee
https://youtu.be/_Jf069OgP_A

Lots of people think lawyers are liars. This movie explains why.....

Movie: Liar, Liar
https://youtu.be/Zh6NzOHOU8s

How obvious is it when someone is biased, putting a spin on the facts or twisting / turning around the story?

"It is easier to align our opinions with facts, than it is to align facts with our opinions."
- Justin K. McFarlane

Knowing your feelings won't change the facts, but knowing the facts can change your feelings."
- Marlene Chism, Stop Workplace Drama: Train Your Team to Have No Excuses, No Complaints, and No Regrets

"There is an objective reality out there, but we view it through the spectacles of our beliefs, attitudes, and values." 
- David G. Myers, Social Psychology

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."
- Arthur Conan Doyle, The Boscombe Valley Mystery

Once there was a verdict, law enforcement and other people did not want to see anything else....

Movie: The Fugitive
https://youtu.be/4sjEAX4iymo

"But I think that no matter how smart, people usually see what they're already looking for, that's all."
- Veronica Roth, Allegiant

Sometimes you see only what you expect or what you were looking for....


"Expectation and fact are two different things that people usually cannot differentiate."
- Lionel Suggs

"Truth and facts are woven together. However, sometimes facts can blind you from seeing what is actually going on in someone’s life."
- Shannon L. Alder

What do you see? Do you see the true colors?

From the song 'True Colors' by Phil Collins:

I see your true colors
Shining through,
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you,
So don't be afraid to let them show,
Your true colors,
True colors
Are beautiful like a rainbow.

http://youtu.be/2FMtxACKlYM

Why you should care about conflicts of interest

"A relationship based on trust is necessary with colleagues, the government, the study sponsors, and, of course, the public. Objectivity is fundamental to this trust."
- http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/rcr/rcr_conflicts/foundation/

They were correct to question her objectivity. Seems like she had a conflict of interest.....
Movie: Thomas Crown Affair
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8W5wjXsrR0

To maintain objectivity, we usually have to be free of conflicts of interest.

Conflict of Interest:
A situation that has the potential to undermine the impartiality of a person because of the possibility of a clash between the person's self-interest and professional interest or public interest.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/conflict-of-interest.html

Seems like this happens a lot...
Advertisement A claims that experts agree on something (or the need for something) and then Advertisement B claims experts agree on something totally different.

"As a society, we put an enormous amount of trust into the advice and insight of so-called experts, and yet it seems to me that the word itself has been utterly stripped of its authenticity."
- Rahim Kanani, Consider Yourself an Expert? Think Again,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rahimkanani/2012/06/22/consider-yourself-an-expert-think-again/

"Bias has to be taught. If you hear your parents downgrading women or people of different backgrounds, why, you are going to do that."
- Barbara Bush

"It's not at all hard to understand a person; it's only hard to listen without bias."
- Criss Jami

Is it a lie or is it different viewpoint?

"Look into my eyes
Can't you see they're open wide,
Would I lie to you baby,
Would I lie to you?
- From the song 'Would I Lie To You' by Charles & Edie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_UXvcr22rM

Example of different viewpoints using a house for sale in Ocala, FL

Each photo is different and shows different details. Could you tell from (2) in the picture how long the garage is and how many garages/carports there are?

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/491-SE-41st-St_Ocala_FL_34480_M67754-38498

"A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent."
- William Blake

"Sometimes, some lies that spoken with high confidence could be more receptive than facts that spoken with doubt."
- Toba Beta, Master of Stupidity

Calling the tail a leg is an example of bending the facts....

"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?  Four.  Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." 
- Abraham Lincoln

"The truth is more important than the facts."
- Frank Lloyd Wright

"The facts are always less than what really happened."
- Nadine Gordimer

"To treat your facts with imagination is one thing, but to imagine your facts is another."
- John Burroughs

Views from different angles may be regarded as facts, but are perhaps just viewpoints.....

"After you've heard two eyewitness accounts of an auto accident, you begin to worry about history." 
- Author Unknown

"Listening to both sides of a story will convince you that there is more to a story than both sides." 
- Frank Tyger

"Facts may be colored by the personalities of the people who present them."
- Reginald Rose, Twelve Angry Men

Facts are supposed to be the truth that cannot be bent or altered......

"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
- John Adams, The Portable John Adams

How would you know whether that "objective" comment was really objective?




"How will I know (Don't trust your feelings),
How will I know,
How will I know (Love can be deceiving),
How will I know."
- From the song 'How Will I Know' by Whitney Houston

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3-hY-hlhBg

Seems like there should be an objective measure/yardstick to determine whether a person could sing (such as hitting the notes, singing in tune etc.). But, apparently not. I loved this song by Carrie Underwood and was surprised to see comments such as:

"How the hell is someone as stellar as Vince Gill allowing a no talent like Carrie Underwood to take center stage? ... Crap performance,  shitty voice."

"The poor girl can't sing to save her life and without Auto Tune she'd not be able to hit any of the notes ... and the song sounds like crap unless it's sung by a baritone.  For a great version, check out The King or George Beverly Shea."

http://youtu.be/pLLMzr3PFgk

"We live in a world where unfortunately the distinction between true and false appears to become increasingly blurred by manipulation of facts, by exploitation of uncritical minds, and by the pollution of the language."
- Arne Tiselius

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lessonsproject/17115364612/

"Feelings could override facts, as facts could alter feelings. Choose the truth first, rather than following after feelings."
- Anthony Liccione

"Truth is not what we want to see, but to make us see that which is amply visible even if not seen."
- Anuj Somany

"Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion." 
- Democritus

"There are no facts, only interpretations."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lessonsproject/15341571349/

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."
- Marcus Aurelius

Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether a statement is the truth based on facts or just an opinion (which may not be objective but based on someone's background, biases etc.).