Scott Land: Ideological Filters — Their Correct Use

When I worked in Industry I was involved in rolling out a Statistical Production Control System for the department I worked in. I was very interested in being involved because, with a modest science background, I have always liked numbers. That overstates it a bit. I like good numbers, accurate numbers, numbers that can be verified. Good solid reliable numbers.

During the rollout of Statistical Production Control System I immediately ran into conflict with some of the management team. They liked charts and graphs. They wanted to see results. They especially wanted to see results that confirmed their preconceived notion of what, both, the problem and the solution was. I thought a better initial method would be to concentrate on getting the best possible data before trying to interpret what it means.

Ignoring the reliability of your input data to arrive at a pre-determined answer can only be done for one of two possible reasons, incompetence, or deception. The first reason speaks for itself and while damaging at least it is not malicious. To falsify science or analysis for your own purposes I think is especially damaging. By using the cover of reason to create perverted results for personal reasons you have not only presented false and misleading solutions but also the entire process of analysis has been badly used.

I was reminded of this when considering what actions an individual could take to try an counter the current political climate of partisan paralysis. I have been thinking how each of us has our own unique worldview, a way that we make sense of the world around us. It is shaped by our life experiences, our faith (or lack thereof), and countless other aspects of how we receive and process information. This is what I call an Ideological Filter. It is how we decide what we agree with, what we support, and how we think the world should work.

Too many of us misuse our Ideological Filters. It has become acceptable to use them to decide what facts or data to consider when examining any of the social or political problems that need to be addressed. To do this screens out any “inconvenient facts” that might steer us away from our pre-determined result.

A far better way to use our Ideological Filter would be to ignore it completely when collecting data. Find out which of the competing facts are actually true. Which ones can be independently verified. By doing this we can then intelligently consider the various possible solutions to any particular problem. More often than not, if we follow this path, we come up with several possible ways to address the issue at hand.

Now is the time to apply our ideological filter. We can use it to pick the solution that best fits our worldview. At this point we have an opinion that has not been reached randomly or merely to fit a previous prejudice. We have verifiable data and reasoned arguments with which to try and win converts.

A brief example based on current events might be the problem of the national debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). One group insists that the only possible solution is to slash spending.

My first thought on this is to consider how it is that we arrive at this percentage: Debt/GDP. It quickly becomes obvious that another way to reduce the national debt as a percentage of GDP would be to increase GDP. This gives a whole world of possible things to consider. We can now look for good data on not only reducing spending but also on increasing GDP. If the Democrats and Republicans could correctly apply their Ideological Filters I believe they could come up with a compromise that might actually have a positive impact on this.

I believe that for those of us who want to see a more effective body politic the best thing we can do as individuals is to be aware of our Ideological Filter. Use it correctly and each of will be better prepared to not only make the kind of political choices that fit our worldview but we will be more effective advocates and better able to make reasoned rational compromise.