When people think about what is and is not a good thing to have when you enter into certain circumstances, one of the most damning things for most happens to be the concept of bias. Bias is a pre-conceived concept about a person, place, thing, or idea that affects a person's thoughts about a new variant of that person, place, thing, or idea. Many think that bias is always a problem because it is often seen as the cornerstone of most negative prejudices. The problem with this line of thinking is that biases can help in addition to harm.
An example of a bias that one may have that can be beneficial is that of a soldier in war who notices that whenever there is a bomb placed behind a door, the door almost always has been painted the color red. In addition to the bomb being placed behind red doors more often than any other color, the soldier also noticed that bombs are rarely placed behind doors that are the color green. This creates the bias and, by nature, a prejudice against the use of red doors and another bias that favors the green doors. The nature of bias can be used to save lives.
Another example of a bias having a positive impact would be if someone were to go to a party. In this case, let it be a company holiday party. You would have a bias as to how to go about the event. If your boss is always in a suit and is stringent on dress codes, you will be inclined to dress in a similar manner. This immediate idea may seem simple and benign, and it is, but it is also a bias. You want to fit into the event and impress your boss, so you will have a bias over the type of clothing that you will wear. This is an example of a good type of bias that all human beings have.
The idea that bias can be a problem stems from many feeling that prejudice in all forms is a problem. While many prejudices in regards to social constraints are, in fact, a problem, prejudices against places, events, things, and ideas are not. Another form of bias is in all forms of politics. If one is a conservative, that individual will have a bias toward those who have conservative beliefs. The same goes for liberally minded people. Biases are a social construct that benefit you by making it easier to deal with certain circumstances, quickly sorting through a backlog of personal experience and knowledge and, thus, having an idea of how a circumstance will play out. This idea may sound very similar to the idea of stereotyping and that is because stereotyping is a kind of bias.
The reason that the social construct of bias is a problem most of the time is because of stereotyping. While people should learn about other individuals on a personal level, the nature of stereotyping does have some merits that should be addressed. If an individual is part of a group who, as a whole (not in part, such as any religious groups that have radicals, and not due to something outside of their control, such as a race or gender), is dangerous or can cause a negative impact on your physical or fiscal well-being, it is more than acceptable to take note of this and stereotype the individual as likely to act in a manner similar to the teachings of this group. A few examples are any neo-nazi organization, any terrorist organization (if you know that an individual has ties or affiliations to this group), any gangs, and/or any hate group that advocates for the death or harming of a group of people due to race, gender, age, sex, or creed.
In conclusion, bias at its very nature is neither a negative nor a positive aspect of the human condition. Rather, it is a way to create a quick recollection and model of choice to respond to different circumstances. Bias is only a problem when it takes the complex nature of events and generalizes it to all groups or events without taking into account that there can be outliers. Using and having biases only shows that you have prior experience or knowledge in something. With this knowledge, you should put it into each circumstance with the understanding of how to begin or proceed. Bias should not be used to determine all circumstances in all conditions.
