Shortcuts, bias, and ordinary mistakes

We rarely have unlimited time and information for a judgment. We use familiar cues, useful patterns, and approximate methods to reach answers. Many of these shortcuts work well in the situations for which they are suited.

A heuristic is a practical shortcut or rule of thumb. A cognitive bias is a systematic tendency in judgment that can pull an answer away from an appropriate standard in particular conditions.

Understanding both terms prevents a common mistake: treating every quick answer as biased and every biased judgment as evidence of dishonesty. The useful question is how the judgment was formed and whether the method fits the task.