Organizing mental blind spots by function
Cognitive biases are not random errors but systematic patterns that emerge from how the brain processes information under constraints. A taxonomy organizes them by the underlying function they serve: memory biases distort recall, probability biases warp estimation, social biases shape group dynamics, and self-serving biases protect self-image. Understanding the function helps predict which bias will activate in specific contexts.
For example, confirmation bias serves a filtering function: if you had to weigh all evidence equally, information processing would be paralyzed. Instead, the brain prioritizes information that fits existing beliefs, creating efficiency at the cost of distortion. This is not a flaw to eliminate but a speed-accuracy tradeoff to recognize and compensate for.
Patterns emerge when biases interact
No single bias operates in isolation. Availability heuristic combines with confirmation bias to create a self-reinforcing loop: you remember evidence confirming your belief because it is salient, then treat that salience as evidence of its importance. Similarly, fundamental attribution error interacts with in-group bias to create misattribution of others' behavior while excusing your own group's failures.
The taxonomy reveals these interactions, showing which biases cluster together and which create opposing pressures. This structure is useful for detecting when you are biased (by recognizing the pattern) and for designing systems that circumvent multiple biases at once rather than correcting them one by one.