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

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

Favorite from April 2015

Our background, beliefs, attitudes and values color our view of the world.....

"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

Do you believe this?

"Roughly speaking, any man with energy and enthusiasm ought to be able to bring at least a dozen others round to his opinion in the course of a year no matter how absurd that opinion might be. We see every day in politics, in business, in social life, large masses of people brought to embrace the most revolutionary ideas, sometimes within a few days. It is all a question of getting hold of them in the right way and working on their weak points. "
- Aleister Crowley 

"Persuasion is often more effectual than force." - Aesop

"Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world."
- Thomas Carlyle

Theme for the week 4/26 - 5/2: Persuasion.

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